Definition of inheritance

• n. - The act or state of inheriting; as, the inheritance of an estate; the inheritance of mental or physical qualities.
• n. - That which is or may be inherited; that which is derived by an heir from an ancestor or other person; a heritage; a possession which passes by descent.
• n. - A permanent or valuable possession or blessing, esp. one received by gift or without purchase; a benefaction.
• n. - Possession; ownership; acquisition.
• n. - Transmission and reception by animal or plant generation.
• n. - A perpetual or continuing right which a man and his heirs have to an estate; an estate which a man has by descent as heir to another, or which he may transmit to another as his heir; an estate derived from an ancestor to an heir in course of law.