heir

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ɛr/ UK /eə/ See IPA manual

Homophones

Minimal pairs

Sounds like ell /l/ vs /ɹ/ Sounds like l /l/ vs /ɹ/

Meanings

1

noun
a person legally entitled to inherit property or rank

As the eldest son, he was the rightful heir to the estate.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person legally entitled... inheritor successor beneficiary scion legatee

Opposites

testator ancestor

Word family

Derived forms heiressheirdomheirlessheirship

Related forms heritage inherit heirloom hereditary

Etymology

From Middle English heir, from Old French heir, oir, from Latin heres (stem hered-) ('heir, successor'), from a Proto-Indo-European root *ghe- ('to leave, be empty').

heres Latin *ǵʰeh1- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# heir

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɛr/
**IPA (UK):** /eə/

## Meanings
1. a person legally entitled to inherit property or rank

## Examples
- As the eldest son, he was the rightful heir to the estate.

## Synonyms
- inheritor
- successor
- beneficiary
- scion
- legatee

## Antonyms
- testator
- ancestor

## Derived Forms
- heiress
- heirdom
- heirless
- heirship

## Related Forms
- heritage
- inherit
- heirloom
- hereditary

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: heres
- Root: *ǵʰeh1-

## Etymology
From Middle English heir, from Old French heir, oir, from Latin heres (stem hered-) ('heir, successor'), from a Proto-Indo-European root *ghe- ('to leave, be empty').

## AI Etymology
Heir comes from Middle English heir, from Old French heir, oir, from Latin heres (stem hered-) ('heir, successor'), from a Proto-Indo-European root *ghe- ('to leave, be empty'). The etymological trail includes Latin heres and Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh1-. As a noun, heir names a person legally entitled to inherit property or rank. The same family is visible in derived forms such as heiress, heirdom, heirless, and heirship and related forms such as heritage, inherit, heirloom, and hereditary.

## Topics
- People & Society

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