HEIR PRESUMPTIVE • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Heir presumptive

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/ɛr prizˈəmptɪv/ Listen

noun

Heir n.

One who inherits, or is entitled to succeed to the possession of, any property after the death of its owner; one on whom the law bestows the title or property of another at the death of the latter. "I am my father's heir and only son."

One who receives any endowment from an ancestor or relation; as, the heir of one's reputation or virtues. "And I his heir in misery alone."

Heir apparent. (Law.) See under Apparent.

Heir at law, one who, after his ancector's death, has a right to inherit all his intestate estate.

Heir presumptive, one who, if the ancestor should die immediately, would be his heir, but whose right to the inheritance may be defeated by the birth of a nearer relative, or by some other contingency.

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Etymology of 'Heir presumptive'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Heir presumptive" Quotes from Famous Books

... of human life, and God knows they are manifold enough, there are few more utterly heart-sickening and overwhelming than those endured by the unlucky Heir Presumptive; when, after having submitted to the whims and caprices of some rich relation, and endured a state of worse than Egyptian bondage, for a long series of years, he finds himself cut off with a shilling, or a mourning ring; and the El Dorado of his tedious term of probation and expectancy ...

— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 10, Issue 262, July 7, 1827 • Various