heredity

[huh-red-i-tee] /həˈrɛd ɪ ti/
noun, plural heredities. Biology
1.
the transmission of genetic characters from parents to offspring: it is dependent upon the segregation and recombination of genes during meiosis and fertilization and results in the genesis of a new individual similar to others of its kind but exhibiting certain variations resulting from the particular mix of genes and their interactions with the environment.
2.
the genetic characters so transmitted.
Compare congenital.
Origin
1530-40; < Middle French heredite < Latin hērēditāt- (stem of hērēditās) inheritance, equivalent to hērēd- (stem of hērēs) heir + -itāt- -ity
Examples from the web for heredity
  • Tilley credits heredity for her remarkable hands.
  • The prince is next in line to the throne by virtue of heredity.
  • He also explained his data by postulating his two laws of heredity:
  • Discussions about genetics and heredity can be a bit impenetrable to the nonscientist, but these constitute only part of the book.
  • The actual cholesterol levels are determined by a number of factors, including heredity, diet and exercise.
  • The book's strongest parts are on genetics and heredity in the Jewish community.
  • What's been debated endlessly is how much is tied to heredity and how much to environment.
  • He is known as the originator of the germ-plasm theory of heredity.
  • First, Darwin had no knowledge of the mechanism of heredity.
  • The basic unit of heredity is the gene.
British Dictionary definitions for heredity

heredity

/hɪˈrɛdɪtɪ/
noun (pl) -ties
1.
the transmission from one generation to another of genetic factors that determine individual characteristics: responsible for the resemblances between parents and offspring
2.
the sum total of the inherited factors or their characteristics in an organism
Word Origin
C16: from Old French heredite, from Latin hērēditās inheritance; see heir
Word Origin and History for heredity
n.

1530s, from Middle French hérédité (12c.), from Latin hereditatem (nominative hereditas) "heirship, inheritance, condition of being an heir," from heres (genitive heredis) "heir, heiress," from PIE root *ghe- "to be empty, left behind" (cf. Greek khera "widow"). Legal sense of "inheritable quality or character" first recorded 1784; the modern biological sense seems to be found first in 1863, introduced by Herbert Spencer.

heredity in Medicine

heredity he·red·i·ty (hə-rěd'ĭ-tē)
n.

  1. The genetic transmission of characteristics from parent to offspring.

  2. One's genetic constitution.

heredity in Science
heredity
  (hə-rěd'ĭ-tē)   
The passage of biological traits or characteristics from parents to offspring through the inheritance of genes.
heredity in Culture

heredity definition


The passing of characteristics from parents to children. (See genetics.)