What does hereditarily mean?
Hereditarily is an adverb meaning “by inheritance” or “through hereditary transmission.” It describes how a characteristic, condition, title, or other feature passes from parents or earlier generations to descendants. For example, a disorder may be described as hereditarily inherited when it results from a genetic change that can be transmitted through a family line. The word is formal and occurs mainly in academic, medical, legal, biological, and genealogical contexts; in everyday speech, phrases such as “by inheritance” are often more natural. Hereditarily is especially associated with the transmission of biological traits and medical conditions, though it can also describe titles, property, or other features passed down through a family. Its related adjective, hereditary, names the thing being passed down, while hereditarily explains the manner of that transmission.
adverbIn a manner involving or according to inheritance; through hereditary transmission from one generation to the next.
- In a manner involving inheritance or transmission from one generation to the next.
"The condition was hereditarily inherited through several generations of the family."
"Some forms of the disorder are hereditarily transmitted from one generation to the next."
"The distinction is not merely hereditarily inherited but also shaped by experience and environment."
Some traits travel through families for generations: hereditarily is the word for that passage through time.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hereditarily come from?
The word is English, formed in the early modern period by adding the adverbial suffix -ly to hereditary. Hereditary comes through Latin haereditarius, meaning “of an heir” or “inherited,” from haereditas, “an inheritance,” which is related to haeres, “heir.” The same Latin family underlies cognates such as heritage, heredity, heritable, and inherit.
How hereditarily is actually used
Hereditarily is formal and relatively uncommon in everyday speech. Writers often use “by inheritance,” “through inheritance,” or “from one generation to the next” when those phrases are clearer.
Easily confused with hereditarily
“Heredity” describes something passed from parents to offspring, while “hereditarily” describes the manner or means by which such transmission occurs.