primogeniture

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The last time the U.K.’s law of succession was altered, to end male primogeniture, was in 2013 and it took nearly two years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

Given the awful game of chance that primogeniture inevitably becomes, the supposed wisdom of a small crowd might well have its advantages over the hazards of genetics.

From Slate • May 21, 2019

They banned inherited titles of nobility - duke and earl and the like - and prohibited the European inheritance practices of primogeniture and entail, by which massive estates were handed down through generations.

From Washington Times • May 8, 2019

For younger sons, who had little hope of inheriting family lands or wealth under the rule of primogeniture, a seven-year apprenticeship in Aleppo was a path to wealth and position as a merchant trader.

From New York Times • Dec. 15, 2017

In Virginia, however, laws abolishing primogeniture and entail had been passed during the Revolution.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis