Link Centre Dictionary

heirloom

heir·loom

UK/ˈɛə.luːm/ US/ˈɛɚ.lum/ uncommon

noun

1.

(law) any property that is considered by law or custom as inseparable from an inheritance is inherited with that inheritance

2.

something that has been in a family for generations

Origin

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.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.