Pri`mo*gen"i*ture (?; 135), n. [LL., fr.
L. primus first + genitura a begetting, birth,
generation, fr. genere, gignere, to beget: cf. F.
primogéniture, L. primogenitus firstborn. See
Prime, a., and Genus, Kin.]
1. The state of being the firstborn of the same
parents; seniority by birth among children of the same
family.
2. (Eng. Law) The exclusive right of
inheritance which belongs to the eldest son. Thus in England the right
of inheriting the estate of the father belongs to the eldest son, and
in the royal family the eldest son of the sovereign is entitled to the
throne by primogeniture. In exceptional cases, among the female
children, the crown descends by right of primogeniture to the
eldest daughter only and her issue. Blackstone.
