Dictionary

heirloom en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈeː.lʉːm/ (Australia)
• /ˈɛɚ.lum/ (General-American)
• [ˈɛɹ.lum] (General-American)
• /ˈɛə.luːm/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

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.

Meanings

1. 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.) 2019 April 10, qntm, “CASE HATE RED”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 135:
2. 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.
   • In a paper published Thursday in the journal Science, a team of researchers say they analyzed the genetic code of nearly 400 varieties of tomatoes ― from the common red supermarket types to the funky heirlooms found in farmers markets. 2017 January 26, Nick Visser, “Scientists Say Something Is Very Wrong With The Tomato”, in HuffPost:
   • At Hortus Bulborum you will find heirloom narcissi that date back at least to the 15th century and famous old tulips like 'Duc van Tol' (1595) and its sports. 2014 September 26, Charles Quest-Ritson, “The Dutch garden where tulip bulbs live forever: Hortus Bulborum, a volunteer-run Dutch garden, is dedicated to conserving historic varieties before they vanish for good [print version: Inspired by a living bulb archive, 27 September 2014, p. G5]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening):
   • My last trip to the market barely yielded enough unmealy heirlooms for a couple of salads. 2009 August 19, Melissa Clark, “Plums Rescue a Seasonal Favorite”, in New York Times:

Forms

Relateds

landrace · heritage

Synonyms

patrimony

Translations (38)

fi perinnelajike (crop variety that has been passed down through generations) · de alte Sorte (crop variety that has been passed down through generations) · bg реликва (valued possession passed down through the generations) · es reliquia familiar/patrimonial (valued possession passed down through the generations) · it bagaglio (valued possession passed down through the generations) · cmn 傳家寶 /传家宝 (valued possession passed down through the generations) · de Erbstück (valued possession passed down through the generations) · sv släktklenod (valued possession passed down through the generations) · ba мираҫ (valued possession passed down through the generations) · ga seoid fine (valued possession passed down through the generations) · ko 가보 (valued possession passed down through the generations) · it lascito (valued possession passed down through the generations) · ru семе́йная рели́квия (valued possession passed down through the generations) · kix tīngkām (valued possession passed down through the generations) · pdt Oawstekj (valued possession passed down through the generations) · ca patrimoni (valued possession passed down through the generations) · mi taonga tuku iho (valued possession passed down through the generations) · non leif (valued possession passed down through the generations) · tl muyas (valued possession passed down through the generations) · no arvestykke (valued possession passed down through the generations) · es patrimonio (valued possession passed down through the generations) · tr yadigâr (valued possession passed down through the generations) · el κειμήλιο (valued possession passed down through the generations) · da arvestykke (valued possession passed down through the generations) · ja 家宝 (valued possession passed down through the generations) · grc κειμήλιον (valued possession passed down through the generations) · nl erfstuk (valued possession passed down through the generations) · it retaggio (valued possession passed down through the generations) · ga séad fine (valued possession passed down through the generations) · ang lāf (valued possession passed down through the generations) · fi perintökalleus (valued possession passed down through the generations) · pt herança (valued possession passed down through the generations) · fr patrimoine (valued possession passed down through the generations) · pl dziedzictwo (valued possession passed down through the generations) · ga airnéis oidhreach (valued possession passed down through the generations) · it patrimonio (valued possession passed down through the generations) · eo heredaĵo (valued possession passed down through the generations) · gl herdanza (valued possession passed down through the generations)