primogeniture
長子相続
解説 Definition
長男が親の財産と地位を相続する法的慣習。ヨーロッパの貴族社会で広く行われた相続制度。
Primogeniture is a system in which the oldest child, especially the oldest son, has the main right to inherit a family’s property, title, or position. It is often used when talking about royal families, noble families, or traditional inheritance rules. The word is mainly used in historical, legal, or cultural contexts.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
prime / primary の pri- を見たら「第一」が出るようにして、後半は progeny（子孫）や generate の gen- と結びつけると、「最初に生まれた子に回る相続」とまとまります。inheritance が単なる相続財産、succession が継承一般なのに対し、primogeniture は「長子優先」という制度名。歴史・法律・貴族社会の文脈で出やすく、 the eldest son inherits all という場面と一緒に覚えると定着しやすいです。
See `primo-` as the same idea as `prime` or `primary`: first. Then link `gen` to `generate` or `progeny`, both about birth and children. Put them together as a system where the first-born child comes first in inheritance.
例文
The law of primogeniture ensured that the eldest son inherited the entire estate.
長子相続法は長男が全ての財産を相続することを保証していた。
Primogeniture was designed to keep family wealth and titles intact across generations.
長子相続は家族の富と爵位を世代にわたって保つために設計された。
The abolishment of primogeniture allowed daughters and younger sons to inherit property.
長子相続の廃止により、娘と次男以下の息子も財産を相続できるようになった。
primogeniture の類義語・関連語
primogeniture の語源・成り立ち Etymology
primogeniture はラテン語系で、primo-「第一の」+ geniture「生まれ」に分けられます。gen- は「生む」で、prime や progeny も近縁。つまり「最初に生まれた者の権利」が核なので、長子相続が家の継承原理として名詞化した語だと見えてきます。
Primogeniture comes from Latin-based elements meaning first and birth. The first part is related to prime, and the second comes from the root gen-, meaning to produce or give birth, seen also in progeny. The original sense was the state or right of being the first-born. From there, it became the legal and social idea that the eldest child, especially the eldest son, inherits first.
外部辞書で調べる
この単語を英単語クイズで覚えよう