Örökös

Örökös is a Hungarian noun meaning a person who inherits property, rights, or a title after someone’s death, i.e., an heir or successor. The term is used in legal, historical, and everyday language to indicate someone who is entitled to inherit through succession. In royal or noble contexts it can designate the next in line to a throne or estate, and in compounds such as trónörökös it emphasizes the hereditary or succession aspect.

In legal usage, the concept of örökös is tied to the system of inheritance governed by statutory rules or by a will (végrendelet). An örökös acquires the decedent’s assets according to applicable laws or the decedent’s testament. The term can refer to one heir or to multiple heirs collectively (örökösök). Hungarian inheritance law distinguishes between testate (with a will) and intestate (without a will) succession, but in both cases the people entitled to inherit are described as örökösök or simply örökös in context.

As an adjective, örökös describes something hereditary or inherited (örökös tulajdon means hereditary property). The related forms such as öröklődő emphasize the ongoing transmission of rights or property through generations. The term also appears in common expressions and compound words, most notably in trónörökös, “heir to the throne.”

Etymologically, örökös derives from the root örök, related to inheritance and heredity, with the suffix -ös forming a noun indicating a person characterized by that relation.

In summary, örökös denotes an heir or successor in various contexts, with legal importance in distinguishing those entitled to inherit under a will or by statutory succession, and broader cultural relevance in describing hereditary or lineal succession.