heirlessadj.
/ˈɛːlɪs/ Without an heir.
a. Of persons: Having no one to succeed in the enjoyment of property or title.
ΚΠ
c1425 Wyntoun Cron. iv. ii. 20 Mony by rycht lyne deyd ayrles.
1845 D. Costello Tour Valley Meuse 119 Albert of Moha, heirless and broken in spirit.
1892 T. A. Cook Old Touraine I. 110 The heirless Duke of Orleans.
b. Of things: Having no one to inherit them on the death of the present possessor.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > right to succeed to title, position, or estate > succession > [adjective] > relating to inheritance > not inherited
unherited1542
heirlessa1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) v. i. 10 Heire-lesse it hath made my Kingdome. View more context for this quotation
1739 G. Ogle Gualtherus & Griselda 54 To feast on Heirless Crowns with eager Views.
1881 F. T. Palgrave Visions of Eng. 233 Mine, an heirless sceptre: His, an exile life!
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
<
adj.c1425