释义 |
heir I. \ˈe](ə)r, ˈa(a)], ]ə\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English eir, heir, from Old French, from Latin hered-, heres; akin to Greek chēros left, bereaved, Old English gān to go — more at go 1. a. : one who inherits or is entitled to succeed to the possession of property after the death of its owner: as (1) : heir at law (2) : heres (3) : one who in modern civil codes based upon the civil law (as in Europe) succeeds to the entire estate of a person by operation of law or by testament and has a right of renunciation and usually a right of entry with the benefit of inventory (4) Scots law : one taking heritable property by destination : one who succeeds only to movable estate (5) : one who receives some of the property of a deceased person by operation of law, by virtue of a will, or in any of various other ways b. : one who receives or is entitled to receive property during the lifetime of a former owner < made his friend heir of the farm after deciding to live elsewhere > 2. : one who inherits or is entitled to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office upon the death or removal from office by other cause (as abdication) of the holder < heir to the principality of Monaco > < succession to the throne by the king's heir following his abdication > 3. : one to whom something other than property (as a position of leadership, participation in a tradition or culture, a natural talent, a quality of character) is transmitted or seems to be transmitted in accordance with or apart from the wish of a predecessor and with or without the necessity of direct succession < looked upon himself as the logical heir of the slain dictator > < was the heir of the two chief traditions of scholarship in Europe — R.W.Southern > II. transitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) now chiefly dialect : inherit |