inherit 
receive as a right or title descendible by law 
from au ancestor at his decease : as, the eldest 
son of a nobleman inherits his father's title. 
In law it is used in contradistinction to acquiring by will ; 
but in popular use this distinction is often disregarded. 
When he maketh his sons to inherit, that which he hath, 
... he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn be- 
fore the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn. 
Deut. jcxi 16. 
Though a man's body is not a property that can be in- 
herited, yet his constitution may fitly be compared to an 
entailed estate. H. Spencer, Data of Ethics, f 71. 
2. To receive from one's progenitors as part of 
one's physical or mental constitution ; possess 
intrinsically through descent. 
Habits are inherited, and have a decided influence : as in 
the period of the flowering of plants when transported from 
one climate to another. Darwin, Origin of Species, p. 25. 
Some peculiar mystic grace 
Made her only the child of her mother, 
And heap'd the whole inherited sin . . . 
All, all upon the brother. Tennyson, Maud, xiii. 
3. To receive by transmission in any way ; have 
imparted to or conferred upon; acquire from 
any source. 
Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal 
life? Mark x. 17. 
An Generall Instructioun to Kyngis, how thay sal alsweill 
inhereit the Benin as the erth. 
Lauder, Dewtie of Kyngis (E. E. T. S.), To the Kediu-. 
4. To succeed by inheritance. [Rare.] 
For surely now our household hearths are cold : 
Our sons inherit us ; our looks are strange. 
Tennyson, Lotos Eaters, Chorlc Song. 
5f. To put in possession ; seize : with of. 
It must be great, that can inherit us 
So much as of a thought of ill in him. 
Shak., Rich. II., i. 1. 
II. in trans. To be vested with a right to a 
thing (specifically to real property) by opera- 
tion of law, as successor in interest on the death 
of the former owner; have succession as heir: 
sometimes with to. 
Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house. 
Judges xi. 2. 
The king and all our company else being drowned, we 
will inherit here. Shak., Tempest, ii. 2. 
The children of a deceased son inherited to the grand- 
father in preference to a son or jointly with him. 
Brougham. 
inheritability (in-her"i-ta-bil'i-ti), . [< in- 
heritable: see Ability.'] The quality of being in- 
heritable, or of being descendible to heirs. 
inheritable (in-her'i-ta-bl), a. [< OP. (AF.) 
inheritable, enheritable, < inheritor, inherit: see 
inherit and i-We.] 1. Capable of being inherit- 
ed; transmissible or descendible from the an- 
cestor to the heir by course of law; heritable: 
as, an inheritable estate or title. 
While property continued only for life, testaments were 
useless and unknown; and, when it became inheritable, 
the inheritance was long indefeasible. 
Blackstom, Com., IL i. 
2. Capable of being transmitted by or received 
from progenitors: as, inheritable qualities or in- 
firmities. 
All organic beings are modifiable, [and] all modifications 
are inheritable. H. Spencer, Study of Sociol., p. 338. 
3. Capable of inheriting ; qualified to inherit. 
By attainder . . . the blood of the person attainted is so 
corrupted as to be rendered no longer inheritable. 
Blackstone. 
inheritably (in-her'i-ta-bli), adv. By inheri- 
tance ; by way of inheritance ; so as to be capa- 
ble of being inherited. 
He resumed the grants at pleasure, nor ever gave them 
even for life, much less inheritably. Brougham. 
inheritaget (in-her'i-taj), . [< ME. inheritage, 
enheritage; < inherit + -age. Cf. heritage.] 
Possession. 
I graunte yow inheritage 
Peaceably withoute strive. 
Isle of Ladies, 1. 1192. 
Where standeth a little Chappell, . . . the inheritage of 
the Calargy, a family that for this thousand yeers have re- 
tained a prime repute in this Island. 
Sandys, Travailes, p. 174. 
inheritance (in-her'i-tans), n. [Formerly also 
enheritance; < OF. (AF.) inheritance, enheri- 
taunce, inheriting, < enheriter, inherit : see in- 
herit.'} 1 . The act of inheriting, in any sense of 
that word: as, the inheritance of property or of 
disease. 
You shall understand that Darius came not to his em- 
pyre by inheritaunce, but got into y seate of Cyrus by the 
beneflte of Bagoas, hys eunuche. 
J. Brende, it. of Quintus Curtius, fol. 143. 
In these laws of inheritance, as displayed under domes- 
tication, we see an ample provision for the production, 
through variability and natural selection, of new specific 
forms. Darwin, Var. of Animals and Plants, p. 61. 
3098 
Or how should England, dreaming of his sons, 
Hope more for these than some inheritance 
Of such a life, a heart, a mind ? 
Tennyson, Idylls of the King, Bed. 
We are led to the conclusion that the oldest customs of 
inheritance in England and Germany were in their remote 
beginnings connected with a domestic religion and based 
upon a worship of ancestral spirits, of which the hearth- 
place was essentially the shrine and altar. 
C. Elton, Origins of Eng. Hist., p. 216. 
2. In law, the estate cast upon the heir by 
law immediately on the death of the ancestor 
(Broom and Hadlei/); a legal right to real prop- 
erty not limited by years or the owner's life, 
so that it will pass by descent ; an estate inur- 
ing to a person and his heirs ; real estate. See 
estate of inheritance, under estate. 
The commons prayed that neither in parliament nor 
council should any one be put on trial for articles touch- 
ing freehold and inheritance. Stvbbs, Const. Hist., 371. 
3. That which is or may be inherited ; the im- 
movable property passing in a family by de- 
scent ; in a more general sense, any property 
passing by death to those entitled to succeed; 
a patrimony; a heritage. 
And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is 
there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's 
house? Gen. xxxi. 14. 
In all his ancient inheritances, he hath houses built after 
their manner like arbours. 
Capt. John Smith, Works, 1. 142. 
My father's blessing and this little coin 
Is my inheritance. 
Beau, and Fl., Knight of Burning Pestle, ii. 2. 
4. A possession received by gift or without pur- 
chase ; a permanent possession. 
Meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in 
light. Col. i. 12. 
5f. Possession ; ownership ; acquisition. 
You will rather show our general lowts 
How you can frown, than spend a fawn upon them, 
For the inheritance of their loves. Shak., Cor., ill. 2. 
Against the which, a moiety competent 
Was gaged by our king ; which had return'd 
To the inheritance of 1'ortinbras, 
Had he been vanquisher. Shak., Hamlet, i. 1. 
Canons of inheritance. See cemoni. inheritance 
Act, an English statute of 1833 (3 and 4 Wm. IV., c. 10) re- 
casting the law of descent. Inheritance tax law, a stat- 
ute imposing a tax on those acquiring property by inheri- 
tance or will : sometimes taxing only collateral relatives 
and strangers, and in such case commonly called a collat- 
eral-inheritance tax law. Several Inheritance, a sev- 
eral estate of inheritance : as, where a partition between 
two heirs allotted the land for half of the year to each in 
turn, their cotenancy was terminated and each was said 
to have a several inheritance ; or where land was given to 
two persons (who could not possibly intermarry) and then 1 
issue, they had a Joint inheritance for their Joint lives, and 
their issue had several inheritance. Words of Inheri- 
tance, expressions in a conveyance or will manifesting an 
intent that the grantee or devisee should take more than 
a life estate, the usual words being "and to his heirs for- 
ever," added after the designation of the grantee; com- 
monly also with the words "and assigns," to manifest in- 
tent that the estate is assignable. By statute in many of 
the United States words of inheritance are not required 
in order to pass an estate of inheritance, 
inheritor (in-her'i-tor), . [< ME. enheritonr, 
< AF. *enneritour, an heir, < enheriter, inherit : 
see inherit."] An heir; one who inherits or may 
inherit. 
Thierry was tho a full noble knyght ; 
Gaffray ther hym made hys enheritour 
Off all the centre which he hild hym dyght. 
Rom. of Partenay (E. E. T. S.), 1. 6120. 
From that time forward the priests were not chosen out 
of the whole number of Levites, as our bishops, but were 
born inheritors of the dignity. 
Milton, Church-Government, i. 4. 
inheritress (in-her'i-tres), n. [< inheritor + 
-ess."] An heiress ; a female who inherits or is 
entitled to inherit. Also inheritrix. 
Joanna II., the inheritress of the name, the throne, the 
licentiousness, and the misfortunes of Joanna I. 
Milman, Latin Christianity, xiii. 10. 
inheritrix (in-her'i-triks), . [< AF. inheritrix; 
fern, form of inheritor."] Same as inheritress. 
Thou then whom partial heavens conspired in one to frame 
The proof of beauty's worth, th' inheritrix of fame. 
Sir P. Sidney (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 565). 
inherset, . t. An obsolete form of inhearse. 
inhesion (in-he'zhon), n. [= It. inesione, < LL. 
inh(esio(n-), a hanging or adhering to, < L. in- 
hcerere, pp. inhcesus, inhere: see inhere.'] The 
state of existing or being fixed in something ; 
inherence. 
Many have maintained that body is only a collection of 
qualities to which we give one name ; and that the notion 
of a subject of inherion, to which those qualities belong, 
is only a fiction of the mind. 
Reid, Intellectual Powers, ii. 8. 
in-hexagon (in'hek"sa-gon), n. [< in(scribed) 
_ + hexayon,} An inscribed hexagon, 
inhiatet, ' i. [< L. inhiatus, pp. of iiihinrr. 
gape, stand open, < in, in, on, + hiare, gape: 
see hiatus.'} To open the jaws; gape. 
in hoc 
How like gaping wolves do many of them inhiate and 
gape after wicked mammon. Becon, Works (1843), I. 253. 
inhiationt (in-hi-a'shon), . [< LL. inhiatio(n-), 
an opening of the mouth, < L. inhiare, open the 
mouth, gape: see initiate."] An opening of the 
jaws ; a gaping, as in eager desire. 
A thirst and inhiation after the next life, and a frequen- 
cy of prayer and meditation in this. Dunne, Letters, xx. 
inhibit (in-hib'it), v. t. [< L. inhibitus, pp. of 
inhibere (> It. inibire = Pr. Sp. Pg. inhibir = F. 
inhiber), hold back, restrain, forbid, < in, in, on, 
+ habere, have, hold: see habit. Cf. exhibit, 
prohibit.'] 1. To hold back; hinder by obstruc- 
tion or restriction ; check or repress. 
Rather than they would be suspected of any lothsome 
infirmity, which might inhibit them from the Princes pres- 
ence, or enterteinment of the ladies. 
Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 252. 
What shall be done to inhibit the multitudes that fre- 
quent those houses where drunk'nes is sold and harbour'd? 
Milton, Areopagitica, p. 24. 
2. To forbid ; prohibit ; interdict. 
Inhibiting them upon a greate payn not once to ap- 
proche ether to his speche or presence. 
Hall, Union, etc., 1548, Hen. V., fol. 1. (Halliu-ell.) 
Humaine weakenes, that pursueth still 
What is inhibited. Uarston, The Fawne, v. 
It [the treaty-making power vested in the government 
of the United States] is ... limited by all the provisions 
of the constitution which inhibit certain acts from being 
done by the government. Calhoun, Works, I. 203. 
inhibitor, inhibitor (in-hib'i-ter, -tor), n. 1. 
One who or that which inhibits. 
They operated as inhibitors of digestion. 
Medical News, LIII. 23. 
2. Specifically, in Scots law, a person who takes 
out inhibition, as against a wife or a debtor. 
inhibition (in-hi-bish'on), n. [= F. inhibition 
= Sp. inhibieion = Pg. 'inhibifSo = It. inibizione, 
< L. inhibitio(n-), a restraining, < inhibere, re- 
strain: see inhibit."] 1. The act of inhibiting, 
or the state of being inhibited ; prohibition ; re- 
straint; embargo. 
Mahomet . . . made a strict Inhibition to all his Sect 
from drinking of Wine, as a Thing profane. 
Hovxll, Letters, ii. 54. 
This is the Question heer, or the Miracle rather, why 
his onely not agreeing should lay a negative barr and in- 
hibition upon that which is agreed to by a whole Parla- 
ment. Milton, Eikonoklastes, vL 
2. In Eng. law, a writ to forbid a judge from 
further proceedings in a cause depending be- 
fore him, issuing usually from a higher eccle- 
siastical court to an inferior one, on appeal. 
3. In physiol., the lowering of the action of a 
nervous mechanism by nervous impulses reach- 
ing it from a connected mechanism. 
Now, however skilfully we may read older statements 
between the lines, no scientific that is, no exact know- 
ledge of inhibition was possessed by any physiologist until 
Weber, by a direct experiment on a living animal, discov- 
ered the inhibitory influence of the pneumogastric nerve 
over the beating of the heart. 
M. Foster, Encyc. Brit., XIX. 23. 
It is evident, therefore, that reflex actions may be re- 
strained or hindered in their development by the action 
of higher centres. This is termed the " inhibition of re- 
flex action." Encyc. Brit., XIX. 28. 
Inhibition against a debtor, in Scots law, a writ pass- 
ing under the signet, whereby the debtor is prohibited 
from contracting any debt which may become a burden 
on his heritable property, or whereby his heritage may 
be attached or alienated to the prejudice of the inhibiter's 
demand. Inhibition against a wife, at the instance of 
a husband, in Scots law, a writ passing the signet which 
Srohibits all persons from dealing with the wife or giving 
er credit 
inhibitive (in-hib'i-tiv), a. [< inhibit + -we."} 
Inhibitory. 
inhibitor, n. See inhibiter. 
inhibitory (in-hib'i-to-ri), a. [= F. inhibi- 
toire = Sp. Pg. inhilniprio = It. inibitorio, < 
ML. inhibitorim, inhibitory, < L. inhibere, in- 
hibit: see inhibit."] Inhibiting or tending to 
inhibit ; holding back ; curbing, restraining, or 
repressing; checking or stopping. 
Pain . . . has an inhibitory effect on all the reflex ac. 
tions. H. Spencer, Data of Ethics, p. 101. 
We referred a short time back to the phenomena of 
"inhibition." It is not too much to say that the discov- 
ery of the inhibitor;/ function of certain nerves marks one 
of the most important steps in the progress of physiology 
during the past half -century. 
M. Foster, Encyc. Brit., XIX. 23. 
Inhibitory nerves, nerves which, when stimulated, di- 
minish or repress action. Thus, the vagus contains fibers 
which on stimulation lower the pulse-rate. 
inhieldt, inhildet, v. t. See inheeld. 
inhiye (m-hiv'), v. t. ; pret. and pp. injured, ppr. 
inliiring. [< j-l + hive."] To put into a hive; 
hive. [Rare.] 
in hoc (in hok). [L. : in, in; hoc, abl. of hoc, 
neut. of hie, this: see hie jucet."\ Herein; in 
this respect. 
