also: せでん
noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'
Used in formal or historical contexts to describe estates, titles, or properties passed down through generations. Often appears as 世伝の before a noun.
その土地は世伝の財産として守られてきた。
The land has been preserved as hereditary property.
世伝の称号は長男に受け継がれた。
The hereditary title was passed down to the eldest son.
Alternate reading; less common than せいでん.
世襲 is the common modern word for hereditary succession of positions or titles, while 世伝 is a rare, formal term often limited to estates or property.
Compound of 世 (generation, world) and 伝 (transmit, pass down). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with hereditary transmission.