1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Hereditament

HEREDITAMENT (from Lat. hereditare, to inherit, heres, heir), in law, every kind of property that can be inherited. Hereditaments are divided into corporeal and incorporeal; corporeal hereditaments are “such as affect the senses, and may be seen and handled by the body; incorporeal are not the subject of sensation, can neither be seen nor handled, are creatures of the mind, and exist only in contemplation” (Blackstone, Commentaries). An example of a corporeal hereditament is land held in freehold, of incorporeal hereditaments, tithes, advowsons, pensions, annuities, rents, franchises, &c. It is still used in the phrase “lands, tenements and hereditaments” to describe property in land, as distinguished from goods and chattels or movable property.