heirloom
English · Thesaurus
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heirloom
- /ˈɛə.luːm/ UK
- /ˈɛɚ.lum/ US
- [ˈɛɹ.lum] US
- /ˈeː.lʉːm/ Australia
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English heirlome (“heirloom”, literally “a tool or article passed to one's heirs”). By surface analysis, heir + loom.
Displaced native Old English fæderġestrēon.
noun heirlooms · heir-loom
-
A valued possession that has been passed down through the generations.
Morning rehearsal starts at eleven. Wheeler takes a taxi from the hotel to the venue, bringing his tuxedo and his violin with him. His violin is an heirloom, more than a hundred years old, and while he's touring it never leaves his sight. (His tuxedo is just a tuxedo.)
Similar: patrimony
- An old crop variety that has been passed down through generations of farmers by seed saving and cultivation, in contrast to modern cultivars used in large-scale agriculture. My last trip to the market barely yielded enough unmealy heirlooms for a couple of salads.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: heritage, inherit, inheritance, legacy, relic, invaluable, inheritee, hand-me-down, heirdom, generational wealth, heir, ancestry, patrimony, heyre, heire, family
Translations
Every language
noun valued possession passed down through the generations
| Español | patrimonio, reliquia familiar/patrimonial |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 가보 gabo |
| 日本語 | 家宝 kahou |
| 中文 | 傳家寶 /传家宝 chuánjiābǎo |
| Português | herança |
| Français | patrimoine |
| Deutsch | Erbstück |
| Italiano | patrimonio, retaggio, lascito, bagaglio |
| Ελληνικά | κειμήλιο keimílio |
| Русский | семе́йная рели́квия seméjnaja relíkvija |
noun crop variety that has been passed down through generations
| Deutsch | alte Sorte |
|---|
Talk about this word "heirloom." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/heirloom. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. heirloom. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/heirloom "heirloom." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/heirloom.Cite this
@misc{heirloom_2026,
title = {heirloom},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/heirloom},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
