HEREDITY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does heredity mean? 

• HEREDITY (noun)
  The noun HEREDITY has 2 senses:

1. the biological process whereby genetic factors are transmitted from one generation to the next

2. the total of inherited attributes

  Familiarity information: HEREDITY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HEREDITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The biological process whereby genetic factors are transmitted from one generation to the next

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("heredity" is a kind of...):

biological process; organic process (a process occurring in living organisms)

Derivation:

hereditary (occurring among members of a family usually by heredity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The total of inherited attributes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

genetic endowment; heredity

Hypernyms ("heredity" is a kind of...):

property (a basic or essential attribute shared by all members of a class)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "heredity"):

hereditary pattern; inheritance ((genetics) attributes acquired via biological heredity from the parents)

Derivation:

hereditary (occurring among members of a family usually by heredity)

 Context examples 

The study of genes and heredity.

(Genetics, NCI Dictionary)

A scientist who has special training in the study of genes and heredity (the passing of genetic information from parents to their children).

(Geneticist, NCI Dictionary)

Risk of developing a disease based on a patients heredity

(Genetic Risk, NCI Thesaurus)

The branch of biology that deals with heredity, especially the mechanisms of hereditary transmission and the variation of inherited characteristics among similar or related organisms

(Genetics, NCI Thesaurus)

The branch of genetics focusing on plant heredity.

(Plant Genetics, NCI Thesaurus)

A branch of genetics concerned with the mechanisms and processes of heredity in microorganisms.

(Microbial Genetics, NCI Thesaurus)

White Fang grew stronger, heavier, and more compact, while his character was developing along the lines laid down by his heredity and his environment.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

A functional unit of heredity that is a segment of DNA found on chromosomes in the nucleus of a cell.

(Gene, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

They quickened the old life within him, and the old tricks which they had stamped into the heredity of the breed were his tricks.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The branch of biology that studies the cellular aspects of heredity, especially the chromosomes.

(Cytogenetics, NCI Thesaurus)