heirloom

[air-loom]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR heirloom ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a family possession handed down from generation to generation.

Law. property neither personal nor real that descends to the heir of an estate as part of the real property.

adjective

noting or relating to an old plant variety that is being cultivated again: heirloom vegetables and fruits.Compare heritage(def 6).

Origin of heirloom

First recorded in 1375–1425, heirloom is from the late Middle English word heirlome. See heir, loom¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for heirloom

antique, birthright, gift, inheritance, reversion, legacy, patrimony, heritage, bequest

Examples from the Web for heirloom

Contemporary Examples of heirloom

Walking through rows of Swiss chard, heirloom tomatoes, leeks, and artichokes, he can tell you exactly when each is at its peak.
A California Tavern With an Artichoke Obsession
Jane & Michael Stern
June 1, 2014
They had to infect the perfectly adequate data with the totally improbable idea of a 400-year-old heirloom elk antler tool.
Incontrovertible Evidence Proves the First Americans Came From Asia
Doug Peacock
March 27, 2014
And then heirloom varieties tend to be more nutritious—and delicious—than modern, overbred varieties.
This Book Will Change the Way You Eat
Lucas Wittmann
December 19, 2013
Unfortunately, most heirloom apple trees have long since been ripped out of the ground.
What the Pilgrims Drank on Thanksgiving
Jordan Salcito
November 28, 2013
The jewelry—rock crystals inset in silver—was bold but not ostentatious thanks to its antique finish and heirloom quality.
Milan Fall Fashion Week 2012: Raf Simons’s Last Collection at Jil Sander
Robin Givhan
February 25, 2012

Historical Examples of heirloom

He thinks that—that heirloom house of mine will look better in the daylight.
Thankful's Inheritance
Joseph C. Lincoln
I'd swear that strong brow and frank look must be an heirloom.'
Lord Kilgobbin
Charles Lever
It was an heirloom, and she could never bring herself to part with it.
The Nebuly Coat
John Meade Falkner
He opened a silver cigarette-case—an heirloom with a crest on it.
Erik Dorn
Ben Hecht
Their plough, an heirloom from remote antiquity, merely scratches the earth.
East of Suez
Frederic Courtland Penfield

British Dictionary definitions for heirloom

heirloom

noun

an object that has been in a family for generations

property law a chattel inherited by special custom or in accordance with the terms of a will

Word Origin for heirloom

C15: from heir + lome tool; see loom 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for heirloom

early 15c., ayre lome, a hybrid from heir + loom in its original but now otherwise obsolete sense of "implement, tool." Technically, some piece of property that by will or custom passes down with the real estate.