hereditary
Definitions
Passed down genetically from parents to offspring.
遗传的。
Held or passed on by right of inheritance rather than being earned.
世袭的。
Root Breakdown
Native Englishhered (inheritance) + -ary (relating to) = 'relating to what is inherited.' Originally legal — a hereditary title or throne passes down by family right, not by merit. Science then borrowed it for traits carried in the blood: a hereditary disease.
Root hered still carries 16 more wordsCommon Collocations
- 1.hereditary disease遗传病
- 2.hereditary title世袭头衔
- 3.hereditary monarchy世袭君主制
- 4.hereditary condition遗传性疾病
Example Sentences
- 1.
The disease is hereditary and tends to run in families.
- 2.
In Britain, some seats in the House of Lords are still hereditary.
- 3.
Baldness can be hereditary, passed from one generation to the next.
Easily Confused
hereditary vs genetic — Both describe traits in the DNA, but hereditary stresses being passed down from parents (a hereditary disease the family carries). genetic simply means 'caused by genes,' and can arise from a new mutation no parent had. All hereditary conditions are genetic, but not all genetic conditions are hereditary.