function inherit(parent) {  // inherit(parent, override_obj, override_obj, ...)
    var key;
    var result = {};
    var objects = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments, 1);

    for (key in parent)
      result[key] = parent[key];
    objects.forEach(function(obj) {
      for (key in obj)
        result[key] = obj[key];
    });
    return result;
  }
performs a shallow merge of multiple objects into one

@arguments list of objects with properties to merge
@returns a single new object