adj. 1. a. Capable of being passed to an heir: heritable aristocratic titles; heritable property. b. Archaic Capable of inheriting or taking by inheritance: a queen who died without heritable issue. 2. Biology a. Capable of being passed from one generation to the next; hereditary. b. Of or relating to a trait whose observed variance within a given population results at least in part from genetic rather than environmental factors. [Middle English, from Old French, from heriter, to inherit, from Late Latin hērēditāre; see INHERIT.] heri·ta·bly adv. |
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