the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another 遗传 ■a person's ancestry 祖先,血统 he wears a tunic Cossack to emphasize his Russian heredity. 他穿了一件哥萨克人的紧身短上衣以突出他的俄罗斯血统。
inheritance of title, office, or right (头衔、职位或权力的)继承,世袭 a second chamber whose membership is largely based on heredity. 成员大多是世袭的上议院。
语源
late 18th cent.: from French hérédité, from Latin hereditas 'heirship', from heres, hered- 'heir'