heritage

UK: /ˈhɛrɪtɪdʒ/ US: /ˈhɛrɪtɪdʒ/ ,(her′i tij)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

her•it•age /ˈhɛrɪtɪdʒ/   n. [countable* usually singular]

1. something that comes or belongs to one by reason of being born to certain parents, born at a certain time, or in a certain country, esp. the traditions and ways of life.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

her•it•age  (her′i tij), n. 

1. something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth;
   an inherited lot or portion:
   a heritage of poverty and suffering; a national heritage of honor, pride, and courage.
2. something reserved for one:
   the heritage of the righteous.
3. Law
   • something that has been or may be inherited by legal descent or succession.
   • any property, esp. land, that devolves by right of inheritance.

• Middle French, equivalent. to heriter to inherit + -age -age; see heir
• Middle English 1175–1225

Synonyms

• 1. estate, patrimony. See inheritance. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

heritage / ˈhɛrɪtɪdʒ/ noun

1. something inherited at birth, such as personal characteristics, status, and possessions
2. anything that has been transmitted from the past or handed down by tradition
3. the evidence of the past, such as historical sites, buildings, and the unspoilt natural environment, considered collectively as the inheritance of present-day society
4. (as modifier; cap. as part of name): Bannockburn Heritage Centre
5. something that is reserved for a particular person or group or the outcome of an action, way of life, etc: the sea was their heritage, the heritage of violence
6. any property, esp land, that by law has descended or may descend to an heir
7. the Israelites regarded as belonging inalienably to God
8. the land of Canaan regarded as God's gift to the Israelites

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French; see heir