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
- A 710-year-old copy of the Magna Carta fetched the fancy sum of $21.3 million at a recent auction. Not surprising, considering that the human rights document, described by some as "the birth certificate of freedom," is the precursor to all modern-day constitutions and laws guaranteeing rights and liberties and thus the patrimony of nations throughout the world.
Workplace Examples
- The reason we long-timers are so upset by the just-announced sale of the battery manufacturing unit is because we've always viewed it as our company's patrimony. It's where our company was founded. 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's 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 United States passing laws to help preserve the houses of their earliest settlers
- a national patrimony for any country: its endangered species of birds and animals; an American patrimony: the ideal of freedom which is why the U.S. has been a top destination for immigrants for over 150 years
- still more American patrimonies: the Constitution; the Gettysburg Address; the poetry of Walt Whitman; the music of Aaron Copland; the humor of the Marx Brothers
