Inhered

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To exist fundamentally within the nature of a being or object as an intrinsic quality or defining characteristic
2. To be permanently present as a natural or fundamental feature of something
3. To inherently belong as a basic and inseparable part of a person or thing

Etymology: "Inhered" is the past tense of "inhere," a verb that English borrowed directly from Latin "inhaerēre," meaning "stick in" or "stick to." The Latin verb is built from "in," meaning "in," and "haereō," meaning "stick." That same "stick" root gives English a family of close relatives: "adhere," which means to stick to something, and "cohere," which means to stick together. The Latin sense of physical sticking survives in the English verb, which describes a quality that clings to a thing so thoroughly that it cannot be separated from it. Philosophers and writers use it for properties that belong to something by its very nature, so that a quality is said to inhere in a substance the way glue holds two surfaces together from within.