heir
Next in line
An heir is someone entitled to inherit property, a title, or a position when the current holder dies: She was heir to a vast fortune, the heir to the throne.
Extended uses describe anyone who continues or receives something from a predecessor: heirs to the civil rights movement, intellectual heirs of Marx.
An heir apparent has a guaranteed claim; an heir presumptive can be displaced by a closer relative.
Property and grounds
- bequestGift left by will
- willFaculty of deliberate choice
- testamentWritten proof or legacy
- probateWill validation proceedings
trust · patrimony · endowment · assets · fortune · wealth · property · holdings
Ceremonial chair for sovereigns
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
- princeRoyal family male
- princessMonarch's daughter or heir
- monarchHereditary supreme ruler
sovereign · dynasty · coronation · ascension · regency · succession · king · queen
Person from earlier generations
- progenyOne's biological descendants
- offspringBiological descendants produced
- scionHeir of prominence
- firstbornFirst child born
child · son · daughter · bloodline · dynasty · genealogy · pedigree · ancestry
estate
Property and grounds
probate · trust · patrimony · endowment · assets · fortune · wealth · property · holdings · beneficiary
throne
Ceremonial chair for sovereigns
monarch · sovereign · dynasty · coronation · ascension · regency · succession · king · queen · emperor
descendant
Person from earlier generations
firstborn · child · son · daughter · bloodline · dynasty · genealogy · pedigree · ancestry · forebears
nobility
Titled ruling class
- peerageSystem of noble ranks
- aristocracyRule by hereditary elite
- titleFormal honorific or name
estate · landowner · gentry · patrician · baron · duke · earl · marquess · viscount · lordship
designate
Formally select or name
- presumptiveAssumed without full proof
- apparentClearly seen or understood
- successorOne who replaces another
dauphin · chosen · anointed · groomed · appointed · named · rightful · legitimate · pretender · claimant
heirpredecessor
One who came first
ancestor · forebear · precursor · progenitor · parent
heirincumbent
Current position holder
holder · titleholder · possessor · owner · occupant
heirtestator
One who makes bequests
decedent · benefactor · bequeather · donor · disinherited
- family heirloomCherished inherited possession
- heir apparentUnassailable next in line
- heirloom tomatoTraditional open-pollinated variety
- royal heirMonarchy's designated successor
- heirloom tomatoesOpen-pollinated ancestral cultivars
- rightful heirPerson legally due inheritance