Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “inherit” come from?

Inherit comes from Middle English enheriten, from Old French enheriter, from Latin inheredito, combining the prefix in- with Latin in meaning "not" and Proto-Indo-European ne meaning "not."

inherit (English): To take possession of as a right; To receive , by...

Definitions

  1. To take possession of as a right; To receive , by...

Ancestry of “inherit”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishenheriten—
2Old Frenchenheriterto inherit
3LatininhereditoI appoint an heir
4Latinhērēditō—
5Latinhērēditas—
6Latin-tās—
7Proto-Indo-European-teh₂tsUsed to form nouns representing state of being
8Proto-Indo-European-teh₂Used to form nouns representing state of being
9Proto-Indo-European-tósCreates verbal adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “inherit”

  • inheriting
  • inheritor
  • inheritable
  • inheritability
  • inheritress
  • inheriter
  • inheritably
  • noninheritable
  • noninheriting
  • uninheritable
  • inheritableness
  • coinheritor
  • inheritee
  • coinherit
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tós →