1. (n.) The act or state of inheriting; as, the inheritance of an estate; the inheritance of mental or physical qualities.

2. (n.) That which is or may be inherited; that which is derived by an heir from an ancestor or other person; a heritage; a possession which passes by descent.

3. (n.) A permanent or valuable possession or blessing, esp. one received by gift or without purchase; a benefaction.

4. (n.) Possession; ownership; acquisition.

5. (n.) Transmission and reception by animal or plant generation.

6. (n.) A perpetual or continuing right which a man and his heirs have to an estate; an estate which a man has by descent as heir to another, or which he may transmit to another as his heir; an estate derived from an ancestor to an heir in course of law.