Hereditament

Word of the Day

Hereditament is a noun that means an item of inheritance.

The Latin word hereditare (her red it ARE ay) means ‘inherit.’ It was later imported into English with the same meaning. For our word of the day, the suffix M-E-N-T was added to express the means or result of an action. Here’s an example of hereditament in use:

That picture hanging in the living room was a hereditament from my late grandfather. It was the only thing I received from my family and I cherish it a great deal.