n. 1. A person who inherits or is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another. 2. A person who succeeds or is in line to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office. 3. One who receives or is expected to receive a heritage, as of ideas, from a predecessor. [Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin hērēs; see ghē- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.