Heritage

The inherited traditions, places, skills, and stories that connect people with their past.

Reach for it when valuing what a family or community carries forward without treating culture as fixed

The weaving school keeps the valley's heritage alive through paid apprenticeships.

• playful

  roots

  personal origin and belonging should sound intimate

  not when Roots is figurative and imprecise when discussing protected buildings or collections.

• everyday

  legacy

  the lasting result left by earlier people is central

  not when Legacy may be one person's influence, while heritage is collectively inherited.

• warm

  tradition

  a repeated custom or practice is being passed on

  not when Tradition is only one strand of heritage and excludes places or objects.

• professional

  cultural memory

  shared remembrance shapes a group's present identity

  not when Cultural memory concerns what is remembered, not every inherited practice or place.

• formal

  inheritance

  something received from predecessors deserves emphasis

  not when Inheritance often suggests money or genes rather than shared culture.

• literary

  patrimony

  historic cultural property calls for an elevated term

  not when Its paternal and legal overtones make it awkward for inclusive everyday writing.

• amnesia
• disinheritance
• rootlessness

• cultural heritage

  The museum returned the masks to the community whose cultural heritage they embody.

• shared heritage

  The river is part of the two towns' shared heritage.

• protect heritage

  New grants help residents protect heritage without freezing the district in time.