# heritage

Pronunciation: say "HER-i-tij" /ˈhɛɹ.ɪ.tɪd͡ʒ/

## Noun

1. A practice or set of values handed down from earlier generations, through families or through an institution's collective memory.
   - Simple: Customs and values that older generations pass down to younger ones.
   - _Each generation passes down its heritage through stories, songs, and shared customs._
   - _The institution's heritage shapes how new employees understand their work._
2. Property or possessions that may be passed on to someone as an inheritance.
   - Simple: Money or property that someone receives from a person who has died.
   - _The estate formed the bulk of the heritage left to the eldest son._
   - _Disputes over the family heritage divided the relatives for years._
3. The status or rights a person gains simply by being born, especially as the firstborn child.
   - Simple: The rights or position a person is born with, often as the oldest child.
   - _The crown was his heritage, passing to him the moment his father died._
   - _By heritage, the firstborn took control of the family lands._
4. A background tied to one's family origins, such as growing up speaking a second language at home.
   - Simple: A person's background, such as being raised speaking another language at home.
   - _As a heritage speaker, she understood Tagalog at home but studied it formally later._
   - _His heritage included two languages spoken across three generations._

## Origin

This comes from Middle English "heritage," from Old French "eritage" or "heritage" (modern French "héritage"), ultimately derived from Latin "hērēs." It can be broken down as "herit" plus "-age."

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