Patrimony   (pronounced pat-ruh-moh-nee) noun


Definition

1. property or estate inherited from one's father or ancestors. 2. an inheritance; something (such as a characteristic, tradition, culture, etc.) transmitted by or received from a predecessor or from the past; heritage.

Main Example

  • The looting of ancient artifacts from Iraq's National Museum is being vehemently lamented by leading American scholars. Many of the over 150,000 items that were stolen weren't just the cultural heritage of Iraq: They were the patrimony of all humankind. For instance, among the looted pieces were cuneiform tablets, inscribed with the first ever writing by man, and a 3200 B.C. alabaster vase with the earliest known depiction of a religious ceremony.

    Workplace Examples

  • The reason we long-timers are so upset by the just announced sale of the car battery manufacturing unit is because we have always viewed it as our company's patrimony. It's where our company was founded over 70 years ago. That plant made us a household name.

  • This tradition of quarterly off-site strategy sessions, which the new CEO wants to abolish, is nothing sacred. It is not some sort of patrimony that we have to get so emotional about. I personally think those meetings are a waste of time.

    Other Examples

  • while fingering the Mercedes emblem on the trunk of his car, someone commenting, "this exclusive mark is perhaps their biggest patrimony"

  • to preserve what they regard as their cultural patrimony, towns and cities across the country passing laws to help preserve the houses of their earliest settlers

  • a national patrimony: our many endangered species of birds and animals that are now protected by a special act of Congress

  • some other American patrimonies: the Constitution; the Gettysburg Address; the poetry of Walt Whitman; the music of Aaron Copland; the humor of the Marx Brothers

    © 2003 V.J. Singal

    This Month's Other Words

    Illusory
    Acerbic
    Vexed
    Evince
    Quiescent
    Inure
    Disingenuous

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