Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An inheritance from a father or paternal ancestor.
  • noun An inheritance or legacy; heritage.
  • noun An endowment or estate belonging to an institution, especially a church.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A right or an estate inherited from one's ancestors; property falling to a person on the death of his father; heritage.
  • noun A church estate or revenue; the endowment of a church or religious house.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A right or estate inherited from one's father; or, in a larger sense, from any ancestor.
  • noun Formerly, a church estate or endowment.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A right or estate inherited from one's father; or, in a larger sense, from any ancestor.
  • noun Formerly, a church estate or endowment.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an inheritance coming by right of birth (especially by primogeniture)
  • noun a church endowment

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French patrimoine, from Latin patrimōnium, from pater, patr-, father; see pəter- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

First attested in 1513. From patrimoyne, from patremoyne, from Middle French patrimoine/patremoine, from Latin patrimōnium, from pater ("father") + -mōnium ("state, condition").

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Examples

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  • an estate inherited from one's father or ancestor

    September 4, 2010