Descendant vs Heir - What's the difference?
descendant | heir |
descending from a biological ancestor.
proceeding from a figurative ancestor or source.
(literally) One who is the progeny of a specified person, at any distance of time or through any number of generations.
(figuratively) A thing that derives directly from a given precursor or source.
(biology) A later evolutionary type.
(linguistics) A language that is descended from another.
(linguistics) A word or form in one language that is descended from a counterpart in an ancestor language.
* 1993 , Jens Elmegård Rasmussen, “The Slavic i''-verbs with an excursus on the Indo-European ''?''-verbs”, in Bela Brogyanyi and Reiner Lipp (editors), ''Comparative-Historical Linguistics , John Benjamins Publishing, ISBN 978-90-272-3598-5,
Someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another.
*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
*:I am my father's heir and only son.
*{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
, passage=And no use for anyone to tell Charles that this was because the Family was in mourning for Mr Granville Darracott […]: Charles might only have been second footman at Darracott Place for a couple of months when that disaster occurred, but no one could gammon him into thinking that my lord cared a spangle for his heir .}}
One who inherits, or has been designated to inherit, a hereditary title or office.
A successor in a role, representing continuity with the predecessor.
*(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
*:And I his heir in misery alone.
*
*:"I wish we were back in Tenth Street. But so many children came"
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-05-11, volume=407, issue=8835, page=12, magazine=(The Economist)
, title=
As nouns the difference between descendant and heir
is that descendant is one who is the progeny of a specified person, at any distance of time or through any number of generations while heir is someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another.As an adjective descendant
is descending from a biological ancestor.descendant
English
Adjective
(-)Usage notes
The adjective may be spelled either with ant'' or ''ent'' as the final syllable (see descendent). The noun may be spelled only with ''ant .Alternative forms
* descendentAntonyms
* ascendant, ascendent, ascendingNoun
(en noun)- ''The patriarch survived many descendants : five children, a dozen grandchildren, even a great grandchild.
- ''This famous medieval manuscript has many descendants .
- ''Dogs evolved as descendants of early wolves.
- English and Scots are the descendants of Old English.
page 479:
- The direct descendant of this form is the Slavic aorist: Sb.-Cr. n?s?'', ''d?nos? .
Usage notes
The adjective may be spelled either with ant'' or ''ent'' as the final syllable (see descendent). The noun may be spelled only with ''ant .Synonyms
* * *Antonyms
* ascendant * ancestor * forebearDerived terms
* direct descendant * indirect descendantSee also
* offspring * offshoot * progeny ----heir
English
Noun
(en noun) (Inheritance)What a waste, passage=India is run by gerontocrats and epigones: grey hairs and groomed heirs .}}