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heir

UK/ˈɛə̯/
nounB2Common in everyday speech and writing · #3,605 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: heirs

An heir is the person who will receive the money and title when someone dies. The rightful heir, an heir to the throne, heir apparent.

An heir apparent cannot be displaced by a later birth and an heir presumptive can, which is a real distinction in royal succession. In law an heir inherits under the rules where a beneficiary inherits under a will. Note the silent h, and that the Latin heres means an heir.

William Shakespeare and unknown scribe · Public domain

Definitions of heir

  1. 1nounheirThe person who will receive property or a title.B2

    “As the only son, he was heir to his father's farm.”

heir is an inheritor.

Also accepted in games: heiress

Where it comes from

Latin heres means an heir. Heritage, inherit and heredity come from the same inheriting.

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *ǵʰeh₁-

  2. Latin

    hērēs

  3. Anglo-Norman

    eir

  4. Middle English

    heir

  5. English, today

    heir

From Middle English heir, from Anglo-Norman eir, heir, from Latin hērēs.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Family & People

Practise this word

heir in the wild

  • While early heirs were granted these lands to rule, eventually only the title was granted.

    Dauphin of France

  • The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent.

    Crown prince

  • A crown princess can be the heir apparent to the throne or the spouse of the heir apparent.

    Princess

  • The Prince of Wales's feathers are the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales, the heir to the British throne.

    Prince of Wales's feathers

  • Marcus Aurelius's naming of his son Commodus as heir was considered to be an unfortunate choice and the beginning of the Empire's decline.

    Nerva–Antonine dynasty

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

From Project Gutenberg, public domain. These sentences are from real books, shown to illustrate the word at work.

Related words

the hērēs family

heirheritagehereditary

heir — used about once every 635 pages · #3,605 · point at the bar for the others

  • heirloom
  • heir apparent