Webster's English Dictionary

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heritage

her.i.tage \'her-*t-ij\ n [ME, fr. MF, fr. heriter to inherit, fr. LL 
   hereditare, fr. L he]red-, heres heir - more at HEIR 1: property that 
   descends to an heir  2a: something transmitted by or acquired from a 
   predecessor : LEGACYM 2b: TRADITION  3: BIRTHRIGHT  mean something received 
   from a parent or predecessor. HERITAGE may imply anything passed on to 
   heirs or succeeding generations but applies usu. to things other than 
   actual property or money {heritage of freedom} INHERITANCE applies to that 
   which passes from parent to child (as money, property, traits of character 
   or feature); PATRIMONY applies esp. to property passed down in a direct 
   line of descent; BIRTHRIGHT applies to property, rank, or privilege coming 
   by right of birth and esp. by primogeniture SYN syn HERITAGE, INHERITANCE, 
   PATRIMONY, BIRTHRIGHT