Hereditary Definition

hə-rĕdĭ-tĕrē

adjective

Of or relating to heredity or inheritance.

American Heritage

Of, or passed down by, heredity; designating or of a characteristic transmitted genetically from generation to generation.

Webster's New World

Of, or passed down by, inheritance from an ancestor to a legal heir; ancestral.

Webster's New World

Being such because of attitudes, beliefs, etc. passed down through generations.

Hereditary allies.

Webster's New World

Being such or possessed by reason of birth.

A hereditary aristocracy.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

noun

A hereditary ruler; a hereditary peer in the House of Lords.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Hereditary

Singular:

hereditary

Plural:

hereditaries

Middle English from Latin hērēditārius from hērēditās inheritance heredity

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Latin hereditarius, from hereditas 'inheritance', from heres 'heir'

From Wiktionary