nonhereditary
|non-her-ed-i-ta-ry|
🇺🇸
/ˌnɑn.həˈrɛdɪtəri/
🇬🇧
/ˌnɒn.həˈrɛdɪt(ə)ri/
not passed down
Etymology
'nonhereditary' originates from English, formed by the prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non', meaning 'not') combined with 'hereditary' (from Latin 'hereditarius').
'nonhereditary' developed from the earlier hyphenated formation 'non-hereditary' (Modern English), where 'hereditary' itself comes from Latin 'hereditarius' via Old French and Middle English.
Initially it literally meant 'not hereditary' and has retained that basic meaning of 'not passed down by inheritance' in modern usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not inherited; not passed down through genes or family lineage — often used to indicate a trait, condition, or characteristic that is acquired or caused by non-genetic factors.
The condition is nonhereditary and is believed to result from environmental exposure rather than genetic factors.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/21 07:57