Definitions

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

  • noun The state of being the firstborn or eldest child of the same parents.
  • noun Law The right of the eldest child, especially the eldest son, to inherit the entire estate of one or both parents.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state of being the first-born among children of the same parents; seniority by birth.
  • noun Descent to the eldest son; the principle or right by which (under the Norman law introduced into England) the oldest son of a family succeeds to the father's real estate in preference to, and to the absolute exclusion of, the younger sons and daughters.

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

  • noun The state of being the firstborn of the same parents; seniority by birth among children of the same family.
  • noun (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.

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

  • noun The state of being the firstborn of the children of the same parents.
  • noun An exclusive right of inheritance belonging to the eldest son.

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

  • noun right of inheritance belongs exclusively to the eldest son

Etymologies

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

[Late Latin prīmōgenitūra : Latin prīmō, at first (from prīmus, first; see per in Indo-European roots) + Latin genitūra, birth (from genitus, past participle of gignere, to beget; see genə- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Late Latin primogenitura, from Latin primus + genitura birth, from genitus, past participle of gignere

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Examples

  • Christ's primogeniture is threefold: (1) From eternity the "first-begotten" of the Father (Col 1: 15); (2) As the first-born of

    Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible 1871

  • I am not knocking the traditional family structure because it has it's benefits, but the idea of primogeniture is basically obsolete in today's society.

    Desiree Moodie: In Defense of The Unchaste 2008

  • Like other European countries, Norway has inherited a medieval culture of primogeniture, that is, of handing off the family farm (or other assets) to the eldest male child.

    Dalton Conley: Much Ado About Birth Order 2008

  • Yesterday's term was primogeniture, which is defined as:

    Sui Generis--a New York law blog: 2006

  • Yesterday's term was primogeniture, which is defined as:

    Define That Term #75 2006

  • The electoral dignity had connected with it the obligation of primogeniture, that is, only the eldest son could succeed as ruler; this excluded the division of the territory among several heirs and consequently the disintegration of the country.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 13: Revelation-Stock 1840-1916 1913

  • Such was the case with noble families subjected by law to the antique system of substitutions and of primogeniture, that is to say, to social constraint which, devised long ago for private as well as for public interest in order to secure the transmission of local patronage and political power.

    The Modern Regime, Volume 1 Hippolyte Taine 1860

  • The decision to overturn the centuries-old tradition known as primogeniture was accompanied by the scrapping of a constitutional prohibition on the monarch's marrying a Roman Catholic.

    NYT > Home Page By JOHN F. BURNS 2011

  • The decision to overturn the centuries-old tradition known as primogeniture was accompanied by the scrapping of a constitutional prohibition on the monarch's marrying a Roman Catholic.

    NYT > Home Page By JOHN F. BURNS 2011

  • Slide 21: Society and Politics • Conical clan organization: all social relations based, in part, on an idiom of hierarchy • Hierarchy based on primogeniture, which is basis of ranking kingroups into hereditary elite (anetï) and commoner (kamaga) ranks •

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows 2008

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