hereditary
In the bloodline
Hereditary describes traits, titles, or conditions passed down through family lines from one generation to the next.
A hereditary disease is one encoded in genes and transmitted from parent to child; a hereditary monarchy passes the crown through bloodlines rather than election.
The word applies equally to biological inheritance and social or legal succession: The estate came with hereditary fishing rights.
Something hereditary is received by birth rather than earned or acquired.
Entitlement from origin
- patrimonyInherited estate or legacy
- bequeathedLeft as inheritance
- entailmentLogical necessity from premises
- primogenitureEldest inherits all
estate · bequest · endowment · trust · beneficiary · testament · devise · succession
Rule by crowned sovereign
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
- successionFollowing in order
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
- dynastySuccessive family rulers
kingdom · royalty · aristocracy · nobility · reign · sovereign · prince · duke
Descent from progenitors
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- forebearsAncestral family members
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- genealogyStudy of family descent
family tree · pedigree · progenitors · ancestors · roots · forefathers · foremothers · antecedents
Hereditary code molecule
- genesUnits of heredity
- chromosomesGene-bearing nuclear structures
- genomeOrganism's total hereditary material
- allelesVariant forms of genes
mutation · genotype · traits · dominant · recessive · genomics · geneticist · polygenic
Existing from birth
- inbornExisting from birth
- familialPertaining to relatives
- predispositionInnate tendency toward something
- conditionState or stipulation
disorder · disease · syndrome · trait · carrier · risk factor · screening · counseling
birthright
Entitlement from origin
- patrimonyInherited estate or legacy
- bequeathedLeft as inheritance
- entailmentLogical necessity from premises
primogeniture · estate · bequest · endowment · trust · beneficiary · testament · devise · succession · landed
monarchy
Rule by crowned sovereign
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
- successionFollowing in order
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
dynasty · kingdom · royalty · aristocracy · nobility · reign · sovereign · prince · duke · earl
lineage
Descent from progenitors
genealogy · family tree · pedigree · progenitors · ancestors · roots · forefathers · foremothers · antecedents · bloodline
DNA
Hereditary code molecule
- genesUnits of heredity
- chromosomesGene-bearing nuclear structures
- genomeOrganism's total hereditary material
alleles · mutation · genotype · traits · dominant · recessive · genomics · geneticist · polygenic · monogenic
congenital
Existing from birth
- inbornExisting from birth
- familialPertaining to relatives
- predispositionInnate tendency toward something
condition · disorder · disease · syndrome · trait · carrier · risk factor · screening · counseling · Huntington's
- biologycells, DNA, cell, biology, gene
- biology termscell, DNA, genetics, genetic, evolution
- ancestryancestors, kinship, ancestor, clan, ancestry
- lineageancestry, royal dynasties, bloodline, noble houses, dynasty
- social rankstatus, rank, nobility, class, peerage
- Born with itinnate, inborn, genetic, inherent, born with
hereditaryacquired
Came to possess
learned · nonhereditary · achieved · developed · nonheritable
hereditaryelected
Chosen by ballot
earned · appointed · achieved · meritocratic · conferred
hereditaryacquired
Came to possess
environmental · noninherited · infectious · sporadic · contagious
- hereditary informationTraits encoded in DNA
- hereditary diseaseCondition inherited from parents
- hereditary disorderCondition transmitted through genes
- hereditary privilegeAdvantage conferred by birth
- hereditary conditionGenetically transmitted health problem
- hereditary ruleGovernance passed through lineage