heirloom

[air-loom] /ˈɛərˌlum/
noun
1.
a family possession handed down from generation to generation.
2.
Law. property neither personal nor real that descends to the heir of an estate as part of the real property.
adjective
3.
being an old variety that is being cultivated again:
heirloom vegetables and fruits.
Origin
1375-1425; late Middle English heirlome. See heir, loom1
Examples from the web for heirloom
  • Purchase antique rings or use heirloom rings if possible.
  • Healthy-looking people were sampling local hams, heirloom tomatoes and raw-milk cheeses.
  • heirloom tomatoes are one of our favorite summer treats.
  • Fruitcake is the only food durable enough to become a family heirloom.
  • Seasonal swim pond, large organic kitchen garden with heirloom vegetables.
  • Here are the best heirloom tomatoes and the best heirloom tomato recipes.
  • We sit at the bar overlooking the brick oven, separated from the kitchen by a wall of heirloom tomatoes.
  • It's been fun watching the heirloom edible movement regain momentum.
  • The profusion of heirloom tomato varieties in fine produce departments and farmers' markets amazes us every summer.
  • The group provided the seeds for a bed of spring wheat and heirloom barely, it did not plant it.
British Dictionary definitions for heirloom

heirloom

/ˈɛəˌluːm/
noun
1.
an object that has been in a family for generations
2.
(property law) a chattel inherited by special custom or in accordance with the terms of a will
Word Origin
C15: from heir + lome tool; see loom1
Word Origin and History for heirloom
n.

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.

Encyclopedia Article for heirloom

an item of personal property that by immemorial usage is regarded as annexed by inheritance to a family estate. The owner of such an heirloom may dispose of it during his lifetime, but he cannot bequeath it by will away from the estate. If he dies intestate (without a will), the object goes to his heir at law; otherwise it goes to whoever takes the estate under his will. Such heirlooms are now almost unknown, but the word has acquired a secondary and popular meaning of items of special, endearing value, such as furniture or pictures, handed down from one generation to the next.

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