heirship

English

Etymology

heir +‎ -ship

Pronunciation

• Homophone: airship

Noun

heirship (countable and uncountable, plural heirships)

1. The status of being heir to something or someone
   • 1858, Various, The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 2, Issue 12, October, 1858‎^[1]:

     He began to fear lest he should be obliged to fulfil the duty of heirship to the property deposited with him.

   • 1905, Editor-in-Chief: Rossiter Johnson, The Great Events by Famous Historians, Vol. 8‎^[2]:

     When that outworn empire perished with the fall of Constantinople, Ivan succeeded nominally at least to its heirship.

   • 1911, Bram Stoker, The Lair of the White Worm‎^[3]:

     "After this the family interest merely rested on heirship of the estate.

Derived terms

• forced heirship