Look up primogeniture in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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Primogeniture (/ˌpraɪməˈdʒɛnɪtʃər, -oʊ-/) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relative. In most contexts, it means the inheritance of the firstborn son (Agnatic Primogeniture);[1] it can also mean by the firstborn daughter (Matrilineal Primogeniture), or firstborn child (Absolute Primogeniture).
Its opposite analogue is partible inheritance.
- ^ "primogeniture, n.". OED Online. September 2019. Oxford University Press. https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/151368 Archived 26 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 26 October 2019).