heirloom

WOTD - 12 July 2009    

English

Etymology

From Middle English heirlome (“heirloom”, literally “a tool or article passed to one's heirs”), equivalent to heir +‎ loom.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈɛə.luːm/
• (US) IPA: /ˈɛɹ.lum/

Noun

heirloom (plural heirlooms)

1. A valued possession that has been passed down through the generations.
2. A crop variety that has been passed down through generations of farmers by seed saving and cultivation.

Synonyms

(valued possession passed down through the generations): patrimony

Translations

valued possession passed down through the generations

Danish: arvestykke (da) n. Dutch: erfstuk (nl) n. Finnish: perintökalleus (fi) n. French: patrimoine (fr) m. German: Erbstück (de) n.

Greek: κειμήλιο (el) (kimílio) n. Korean: 가보 (ko) (gabo) Norwegian: arvestykke (no) n. Polish: dziedzictwo (pl) Swedish: släktklenod

crop variety that has been passed down through generations

Finnish: perinnelajike (fi) n.

See also

• Heirloom on Wikipedia.Wikipedia