The act or state of inheriting; as, the inheritance of an estate; the inheritance of mental or physical qualities.
That which is or may be inherited; that which is derived by an heir from an ancestor or other person; a heritage; a possession which passes by descent. When the man dies, let the inheritance Descend unto the daughter. Shak.
A permanent or valuable possession or blessing, esp. one received by gift or without purchase; a benefaction. To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. 1 Pet. i. 4.
Possession; ownership; acquisition. "The inheritance of their loves." Shak. To you th' inheritance belongs by right Of brother's praise; to you eke Spenser.
Transmission and reception by animal or plant generation.
A perpetual or continuing right which a man and his heirs have to an estate; an estate which a man has by descent as heir to another, or which he may transmit to another as his heir; an estate derived from an ancestor to an heir in course of law. Blackstone.
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