# heir

Pronunciation: say "AIR" US /ɛɚ/, UK /ɛə/

## Noun

1. A person who inherits, or has been designated to inherit, another person's property, or a hereditary title or office such as a throne.
   - Simple: A person who gets, or will get, someone's money, property or title when that person dies.
   - _Her nephew was named sole heir to the family estate._
   - _Lawyers spent months tracing the heirs of a woman who died without a will._
2. A successor in a role who represents continuity with the person who held it before.
   - Simple: A person who takes over a role from someone and keeps their work or style going.
   - _Many critics see the young conductor as the true heir to the orchestra's founder._
   - _Party elders spent years grooming their chosen heirs to keep the old policies in place._

## Verb

3. To inherit something, or, used without an object, to receive an inheritance. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To get money, land, or other things from someone after they die.

## Origin

Latin hērēs gave Anglo-Norman eir or heir, which Middle English took over as heir, the spelling still used today.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/heir (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).