heritage

heritage — noun

1. The traditions, buildings, art, and language that a society keeps from earlier t

1.nounB1
Definition

The traditions, buildings, art, and language that a society keeps from earlier times and cares about as part of what makes it special.

Example

The old city of Kyoto is famous for its rich cultural heritage and beautiful temples.

collocation: cultural heritage

Amani is learning traditional drumming from her grandmother to help preserve her family's heritage.

Common collocations
  • cultural heritage
  • architectural heritage
  • national heritage
  • rich heritage
  • preserve heritage
  • protect heritage
Synonyms
  • legacy

    focuses on what is left behind by past generations, often including money or property as well as culture

  • tradition

    narrower — refers specifically to customs and beliefs rather than the full set of cultural assets

  • inheritance

    can refer to culture, but more commonly used for property or money received from family

Grammar Patterns

[possessive] + heritage

heritage + of + noun phrase

Usage Note

Almost always used as an uncountable noun. Common with possessive determiners (our heritage, the country's heritage).

Common Mistakes

I love the heritages of different countries.
I love the heritage of different countries.
'heritage' is uncountable and does not take a plural form.

2. A person's family background — for instance, the country, culture, religion, or

2.nounB2
Definition

A person's family background — for instance, the country, culture, religion, or ethnic group that their parents and grandparents came from.

Example

Tuan's Vietnamese heritage influences the way he celebrates the Lunar New Year.

possessive + heritage for personal background

On the form, candidates can select more than one option for their ethnic heritage.

collocation: ethnic heritage

Common collocations
  • ethnic heritage
  • cultural background
  • mixed heritage
  • proud of one's heritage
Synonyms
  • background

    more general; can also include education and life experience

  • ancestry

    focuses specifically on the line of ancestors rather than cultural identity

  • roots

    more informal and emotional, suggesting a strong personal connection to one's place of origin

Grammar Patterns

[possessive] + heritage

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 refers to a whole society's shared cultural assets; sense 2 refers to an individual's inherited identity.

Common Mistakes

What heritage do you belong to?
What is your ethnic heritage?
'heritage' is not used with 'belong to' for personal background.

3. Customs, skills, and ways of thinking that are passed from older people to young

3.nounB2
Definition

Customs, skills, and ways of thinking that are passed from older people to younger people within a group, often for many generations.

Example

The islanders have a strong heritage of storytelling that goes back hundreds of years.

heritage + of + gerund

Bilal's family heritage of woodworking has been passed down for five generations.

Common collocations
  • musical heritage
  • farming heritage
  • heritage of storytelling
  • strong heritage of
Synonyms
  • tradition

    more commonly used for a single custom; heritage suggests a broader collection of practices

  • custom

    refers to a specific habitual practice, not an entire body of inherited ways

  • folklore

    limited to stories, beliefs, and oral traditions rather than skills and behaviour

Grammar Patterns

heritage + of + [activity]

Usage Note

Often combines with a field or activity — musical heritage, literary heritage, farming heritage — to describe long-standing practices within a domain.

Common Mistakes

The heritage of my family is to cook together.
My family has a heritage of cooking together.
'heritage of + gerund' works best when the activity is a long-standing tradition.

heritage — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all four words connect to the past, 'heritage' is the broadest — it covers everything a society or person receives from earlier generations: buildings, art, language, customs, and beliefs. 'Legacy' focuses on what is left behind, often by one person or a single event; a scientist's legacy might be a discovery or a foundation. 'Tradition' is narrower: it refers specifically to customs and practices passed down over time, like a holiday ritual or a cooking method. 'Inheritance' is the most concrete, usually meaning money or property, though it can figuratively apply to culture. For example: India's cultural heritage includes its monuments and languages; the legacy of Gandhi includes his philosophy of non-violence; the tradition of Diwali lights brings families together each year; a child may receive an inheritance of land or jewellery from their parents.

heritage ↗legacy ↗tradition ↗inheritance ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • part of one's heritage
  • sense of heritage

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'heritage' comes from the Old French 'heritage' (from 'heriter' — to inherit), which traces back to the Latin 'hereditare', from 'heres' meaning 'heir'. The original sense was about inheriting property or a title. By the 19th century, the meaning had broadened to include cultural and natural assets passed down from past generations. The adjective use, describing protected historic buildings, developed in British English in the mid-20th century, and the use for old-fashioned plant and animal varieties emerged later as part of the conservation movement.