- the transmission from one generation to another of genetic factors that determine individual characteristics: responsible for the resemblances between parents and offspring
- the sum total of the inherited factors or their characteristics in an organism
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
he•red•i•ty /həˈrɛdɪti/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Geneticsthe passing on of qualities, characteristics, or traits from parents to their young through the genes.
he•red•i•ty
(hə red′i tē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -ties. [Biol.]
- Geneticsthe transmission of genetic characters from parents to offspring: it is dependent upon the segregation and recombination of genes during meiosis and fertilization and results in the genesis of a new individual similar to others of its kind but exhibiting certain variations resulting from the particular mix of genes and their interactions with the environment.
- Geneticsthe genetic characters so transmitted. Cf. congenital.
- Latin hērēditāt- (stem of hērēditās) inheritance, equivalent. to hērēd- (stem of hērēs) heir + -itāt- -ity
- Middle French heredite
- 1530–40
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
heredity /hɪˈrɛdɪtɪ/ n ( pl -ties)
'heredity' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
caste
- cytogenetics
- Eysenck
- fluctuation
- Galton
- gene
- genetics
- Goldschmidt
- inheritable
- inheritance
- Mendel's laws
- Morgan
- Weismannism
- bred-in-the-bone
- convergence
- De Vries
- familial
- hereditary
- heritable
- Jensenism
- life expectancy
- Mendelian
- Mendelism
- peer of the realm
- phenylthiourea
- polygenic inheritance
- race
- unit character