heredity

heredity
1. The transmission of characters from parent to offspring by information encoded in the parental germ cells. 2. Genealogy. [L. hereditas, inheritance, fr. heres (hered-), heir]

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he·red·i·ty hə-'red-ət-ē n, pl -ties
1) the sum of the qualities and potentialities genetically derived from one's ancestors
2) the transmission of traits from ancestor to descendant through the molecular mechanism lying primarily in the DNA or RNA of the genes compare MEIOSIS

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n.
the process that causes the biological similarity between parents and their offspring. genetics is the study of heredity.

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he·red·i·ty (hə-redґĭ-te) [L. hereditas] 1. the genetic transmission of a particular quality or trait from parent to offspring. 2. the genetic constitution of an individual.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • Heredity — • The offspring tends to resemble, sometimes with extraordinary closeness, the parents Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Heredity     Heredity      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Heredity — is the passing of traits to offspring. This is the process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to the characteristics of its parent cell or organism. Through heredity, variations exhibited by individuals can… …   Wikipedia

  • Heredity — He*red i*ty, n. [L. hereditas heirship.] (Biol.) Hereditary transmission of the physical and psychical qualities of parents to their offspring; the biological law by which living beings tend to repeat their characteristics in their descendants.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • heredity — heredity. См. наследственность. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • heredity — index affiliation (bloodline), ancestry, birth (lineage), blood, bloodline, descent (lineage) …   Law dictionary

  • heredity — 1530s, from M.Fr. hérédité (12c.), from L. hereditatem (nom. hereditas) heirship, inheritance, condition of being an heir, from heres (gen. heredis) heir, heiress, from PIE root *ghe to be empty, left behind (Cf. Gk. khera widow ). Legal sense of …   Etymology dictionary

  • heredity — [n] transmission of traits from parents to offspring ancestry, congenital traits, constitution, eugenics, genesiology, genetic make up, genetics, inborn character, inheritance; concept 648 Ant. acquirement …   New thesaurus

  • heredity — ► NOUN 1) the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another. 2) inheritance of a title, office, or right. ORIGIN Latin hereditas heirship , from heres heir …   English terms dictionary

  • heredity — [hə red′i tē] n. pl. heredities [Fr hérédité < L hereditas, heirship < heres, heir < IE base * g̑hē , to be empty, leave behind > GO1, Gr chēres, bereft] 1. a) the transmission of characteristics from parent to offspring by means of… …   English World dictionary

  • heredity — /heuh red i tee/, n., pl. heredities. Biol. 1. the transmission of genetic characters from parents to offspring: it is dependent upon the segregation and recombination of genes during meiosis and fertilization and results in the genesis of a new… …   Universalium

  • heredity — The passing down by genetic transmission of the characteristics of plants or animals from one generation to the next (‘like begetting like’). The idea of biologically transmitted similarities is an old one. However, ideas as to the means of this… …   Dictionary of sociology

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