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ultimogeniture

Definition of Ultimogeniture

(noun) The custom, law, principle, or tradition granting inheritance of a family estate to the last born or youngest child.

Example of Ultimogeniture

  • Quinn decided to will the family estate to Kelly, the youngest, instead of Alexis, the oldest.

Ultimogeniture Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: ul·ti·mo·gen·i·ture

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /uhl-tuh-moh-jEn-uh-chur/
  • British English – /uhl-ti-moh-jE-ni-chuh/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English: /ˌʌltəmoˈdʒɛnəˌtʃʊr/
  • British English: /ˌʌltɪmə(ʊ)ˈdʒenɪtʃə/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: ultimogenitures
  • While rarer than primogeniture, there is a vast array of rule variation relating to ultimogeniture across societies and cultures and the reasons for its use. The primary reason however, is to maintain and consolidate a family’s money and property and therefore their power and influence.
  • Primogeniture is the opposite of ultimogeniture and in contrast, partible inheritance is when inheritance is divided more or less equally among heirs.
  • Secundogeniture refers to inheritance granted to the second oldest child and tertiogeniture refers to inheritance granted to the third oldest child.
  • A type of inheritance.
  • Also called:
    • junior right
    • postremogeniture

Additional Information

Related Terms


Cite the Definition of Ultimogeniture

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “ultimogeniture.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 28, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/ultimogeniture/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

ultimogeniture. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/ultimogeniture/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “ultimogeniture.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/ultimogeniture/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“ultimogeniture.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/ultimogeniture/>.