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Hereditary vs Ancestral - What's the difference?

hereditary | ancestral | Synonyms |

As adjectives the difference between hereditary and ancestral

is that hereditary is which is passed on as inheritance, by last will or intestate while ancestral is of, pertaining to, derived from, or possessed by, an ancestor or ancestors; as, an ancestral estate.

As a noun hereditary

is a hereditary ruler; a hereditary peer in the House of Lords.

hereditary

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • which is passed on as inheritance, by last will or intestate
  • (of a title, honor or right) legally granted to somebody's descendant after that person's death.
  • Duke is a hereditary title which was created in Norman times.
  • (of a person) holding a legally hereditary title or rank
  • hereditary rulers
  • (of a disease or trait) passed from a parent to offspring in the genes
  • ''Haemophilia is hereditary in his family.

    Derived terms

    * hereditariness * hereditarily * hereditary disease * hereditary peer

    Noun

    (hereditaries)
  • A hereditary ruler; a hereditary peer in the House of Lords.
  • See also

    * congenital

    ancestral

    English

    Alternative forms

    * ancestrall (obsolete) * auncestral (obsolete)

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Of, pertaining to, derived from, or possessed by, an ancestor or ancestors; as, an ancestral estate.
  • Anagrams

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