heritage

Plural: heritages

Noun

• Something inherited from the past; a legacy.
• practices that are handed down from the past by tradition
  • "a heritage of freedom"
• any attribute or immaterial possession that is inherited from ancestors
  • "the world's heritage of knowledge"
• that which is inherited; a title or property or estate that passes by law to the heir on the death of the owner
• hereditary succession to a title or an office or property
• An inheritance; property that may be inherited.
• A tradition; a practice or set of values that is passed down from preceding generations through families or through institutional memory.
• A birthright; the status acquired by birth, especially of but not exclusive to the firstborn.
• Having a certain background, such as growing up with a second language.

Examples

• a heritage speaker; a heritage language
• His extensive vocabulary was part of his HERITAGE as a lifelong word gamer.
• The university requires heritage Spanish students to enroll in a specially designed Spanish program not available to non-heritage students.

Synonyms

inheritance

Related Words

heir, heirloom, landrace