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n.

1. 1. The act of inheriting.
   2. Something inherited or to be inherited.
2. Something regarded as a heritage: the cultural inheritance of Rome. See synonyms at heritage.
3. Biology.
   1. The process of genetic transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring.
   2. A characteristic so inherited.
   3. The sum of characteristics genetically transmitted from parents to offspring.

In object technology, the ability of one class of objects to inherit properties from a higher class.

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All or part of a person's estate/assets that is given to an heir once the person is deceased.

Investopedia Says:
Most countries tax any inheritances.

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Real Property or Personal Property that is received by heirs. A nontechnical meaning of inheritance includes property passed by Will. Although federal estate tax may have to be paid on the estate itself, the recipient is not subject to federal income tax on the inheritance.

noun

1. Any special privilege accorded a firstborn: birthright, heritage, legacy, patrimony. See owned/unowned.
2. Something immaterial, as a style or philosophy, that is passed from one generation to another: heritage, legacy, tradition. See affect/ineffectiveness.

For more information on inheritance, visit Britannica.com.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Property received from a decedent, either by will or through state laws of intestate succession, where the decedent has failed to execute a valid will.

1. the acquisition of characters or qualities by transmission from parent to offspring.
2. that which is transmitted from parent to offspring. See also gene, deoxyribonucleic acid and heredity.
Mendelian inheritance is the basis of all genetic practice, but it has limitations in explaining the small differences that occur in a range of offspring of similar and related matings. Galtonian genetics deals specifically with this problem and is better fitted as a tool in population genetics and in dealing with characters that are dependent on a number of chromosomal loci rather than on a single locus.

• autosomal i. — controlled by genes located on autosomes.
• intermediate i. — inheritance in which the phenotype of the heterozygote falls between that of either homozygote.
• maternal i. — the transmission of characters that are dependent on peculiarities of the egg cytoplasm produced, in turn, by nuclear genes.
• X-linked i. — see x-linked.

Quotes:

"It is the fate of the great ones of this earth, to be appreciated only after they are gone." - Saying

"To inherit property is not to be born -- it is to be still-born, rather." - Henry David Thoreau

"I would rather make my name than inherit it." - William M. Thackeray

"Those in supreme power always suspect and hate their next heir." - Publius Cornelius Tacitus

"People don't have fortunes left them in that style nowadays; men have to work and women to marry for money. It's a dreadfully unjust world." - Louisa May Alcott

"To kill a relative of whom you are tired is something. But to inherit his property afterwards, that is genuine pleasure." - Honore De Balzac

See more famous quotes about Inheritance

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Common misspelling(s) of inheritance

• inheritage

Dansk (Danish)
n. - arv

idioms:

• inheritance tax    arveafgift

Nederlands (Dutch)
erfenis, (over)erving

Français (French)
n. - héritage, succession, (Biol) patrimoine héréditaire

idioms:

• inheritance tax    (US) droits de succession

Deutsch (German)
n. - Erbe, Erbschaft

idioms:

• inheritance tax    Erbschaftssteuer

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κληρονομιά

idioms:

• inheritance tax    (οικον.) φόρος κληρονομιάς

Italiano (Italian)
eredità

idioms:

• inheritance tax    imposta di successione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - herança (f)

idioms:

• inheritance tax    imposto (m) de sucessão

Русский (Russian)
наследование, наследство

idioms:

• inheritance tax    налог на наследство

Español (Spanish)
n. - herencia, patrimonio

idioms:

• inheritance tax    impuesto sucesorio, impuesto a la herencia

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - arv, arvedel

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
遗传, 遗产

idioms:

• inheritance tax    遗产税, 继承税

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 遺傳, 遺產

idioms:

• inheritance tax    遺產稅, 繼承稅

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 상속, 유산, 유전질

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 相続, 相続財産, 遺産, 遺伝

idioms:

• inheritance tax    相続税

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) وراثه, إرث‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ירושה, עיזבון‬

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