heredity

/hɪˈɹɛdɪti/

//hɪˈɹɛdɪti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"heredity" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“heredity” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #48,797. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#48,797
frequency rank, English
23,837
“H” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Hereditary transmission of the physical and genetic qualities of parents to their offspring; the biological law by which living beings tend to repeat their characteristics in their descendants.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

heredity vs hereditary
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for heredity
PropertyValue
Headwordheredity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hɪˈɹɛdɪti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#48,797
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “heredity” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). heredity lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around heredity (IPA /hɪˈɹɛdɪti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #48,797 among 23,837 “H” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Hereditary transmission of the physical and genetic qualities of parents to their offspring; the biological law by which living beings tend to repeat their characteristics in their descendants.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for heredity, with forms such as "ehredity", "heerdity", and "herdeity". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "hereditary", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French heredité, from Latin hērēditas (“condition of being an heir”), from hēres (“heir”). The correct English form is heredity, spelled H-E-R-E-D-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Hereditary transmission of the physical and genetic qualities of parents to their offspring; the biological law by which living beings tend to repeat their characteristics in their descendants.

Etymology

From Middle French heredité, from Latin hērēditas (“condition of being an heir”), from hēres (“heir”).

This word in other languages

herencia(Español)hérédité(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehredity
  • heerdity
  • herdeity
  • hereddity
  • hereditty
  • heredityy
  • herediyt
  • heredtiy
  • hereidty
  • herredity
  • hheredity
  • hreedity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of heredity - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ehredity2heerdity2herdeity2hereddity1hereditty1heredityy1herediyt2heredtiy2
Edit distance from "heredity"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "heredity"?
"heredity" is spelled H-E-R-E-D-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /hɪˈɹɛdɪti/.
What does "heredity" mean?
As a noun, "heredity" means: Hereditary transmission of the physical and genetic qualities of parents to their offspring; the biological law by which living beings tend to repeat their characteristics in their descendants.
What words are commonly confused with "heredity"?
"heredity" is commonly confused with "hereditary". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "heredity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heredity" is /hɪˈɹɛdɪti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "heredity"?
From Middle French heredité, from Latin hērēditas (“condition of being an heir”), from hēres (“heir”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “heredity”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-E-R-E-D-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /hɪˈɹɛdɪti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “hereditary” - see the side-by-side comparison. heredity vs hereditary
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list