| 释义 |
‖ damnosa hereditas|dæmˈnəʊsə hɪˈrɛdɪtæs|
[L., = ‘insolvent inheritance’.]
In Law, an unprofitable legacy; now widely applied to any inheritance, tradition, etc., involving more burden than profit.
1848Wharton Law Lex. 159/1 Damnosa hæreditas, a disadvantageous inheritance. 1889S. Alexander Moral Order iii. ii. 307 Murder and lying and theft are a damnosa hereditas left us from a time when they were legitimate institutions. 1912J. E. C. Flitch Modern Dancing vii. 98 Lottie Collins left a legacy of style behind her which her successors probably found to be a damnosa hereditas. 1931Times Lit. Suppl. 7 May 357/1 He is not himself immune from the effects of a damnosa hereditas common to the species. 1935Ibid. 3 Jan. 1/3 He bequeathed his resentment in a Will so complicated..that it threatened..to become the damnosa hereditas of The Times. 1938R. G. Collingwood Princ. Art x. 214 Hume did not recognize the difference; and his failure has been a damnosa hereditas for all subsequent philosophy. 1955Times 10 May 4/2 The rule that an executor was not compelled to accept a damnosa hereditas did not provide a reliable guide. |