He*red"i*ta*ry (?), a. [L. hereditarius, fr. hereditas heirship, inheritance, fr. heres heir: cf. F. héréditaire. See Heir.] 1. Descended, or capable of descending, from an ancestor to an heir at law; received or passing by inheritance, or that must pass by inheritance; as, an hereditary estate or crown.

2. Transmitted, or capable of being transmitted, as a constitutional quality or condition from a parent to a child; as, hereditary pride, bravery, disease.

Syn. -- Ancestral; patrimonial; inheritable.

• (of a disease or quality) passed from a parent to a child in the genes
        Haemophilia is hereditary in his family.
  
• (of a title, honour or right) legally granted to somebody's descendant after that person's death.
        Duke is a hereditary title which was created in Norman times.
  
• (of a person) holding a hereditary (2) title or rank
        hereditary rulers