The word 遗传 is formed through the direct and intuitive combination of two conceptual characters: 遗 (yí), which means "to leave behind" or "to bequeath", and 传 (chuán), which means "to pass on" or "to transmit". Together, they create a vivid, almost pictorial idea of a trait or characteristic being left behind by one entity and subsequently passed on to another, perfectly encapsulating the core principle of biological heredity in a single, compact term.