HEREDITARY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does hereditary mean? 

• HEREDITARY (adjective)
  The adjective HEREDITARY has 2 senses:

1. occurring among members of a family usually by heredity

2. inherited or inheritable by established rules (usually legal rules) of descent

  Familiarity information: HEREDITARY used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HEREDITARY (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Occurring among members of a family usually by heredity

Synonyms:

familial; genetic; hereditary; inherited; transmissible; transmitted

Context example:

genetically transmitted features

Similar:

heritable; inheritable (capable of being inherited)

Derivation:

heredity (the total of inherited attributes)

heredity (the biological process whereby genetic factors are transmitted from one generation to the next)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Inherited or inheritable by established rules (usually legal rules) of descent

Synonyms:

ancestral; hereditary; patrimonial; transmissible

Context example:

transmissible tradition

Similar:

heritable; inheritable (capable of being inherited)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

 Context examples 

A heterogeneous group of disorders, some hereditary, others acquired, characterized by abnormal structure or function of one or more of the elements of connective tissue, i.e., collagen, elastin, or the mucopolysaccharides.

(Connective Tissue Disorder, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

In humans hereditary defects in the NER pathway are linked to at least three diseases: xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), Cockayne syndrome (CS), and trichothiodystrophy (TTD).

(Nucleotide Excision Repair Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

A common hereditary disease in which exocrine (secretory) glands produce abnormally thick mucus.

(Cystic Fibrosis, NCI Dictionary)

A part of a name denoting that a person holds a hereditary title.

(Nobility Title, NCI Thesaurus)

Group of mostly hereditary disorders characterized by thickening of the palms and soles as a result of excessive keratin formation leading to hypertrophy of the stratum corneum (hyperkeratosis).

(Palmoplantar Keratoderma, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

It usually affects children, is perhaps hereditary, and may be associated with other anomalies, such as mental retardation and short stature.

(Bartter Syndrome, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A hereditary cerebrovascular disorder caused by mutations in the Notch 3 gene.

(CADASIL Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

Alleles GpnmbR150X and Tyrp1isa contribute to an eye phenotype that closely resembles human hereditary glaucoma.

(DBA/2 Mouse, NCI Thesaurus)

Germline mutations of the MLH3 gene may also play a role in hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer

(DNA Mismatch Repair Protein MLH3, NCI Thesaurus)

An autosomal recessive hereditary neoplastic syndrome caused by mutations in the MUTYH gene on chromosome 1p34.1.

(MUTYH-Associate Polyposis, NCI Thesaurus)