heirloom Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (law) any property that is considered by law or custom as inseparable from an inheritance is inherited with that inheritance
  2. noun something that has been in a family for generations

WordNet

Heir"loom` noun
Etymology
Heir + loom, in its earlier sense of implement, tool. See Loom the frame.
Definitions
  1. Any furniture, movable, or personal chattel, which by law or special custom descends to the heir along with the inheritance; any piece of personal property that has been in a family for several generations.
    Woe to him whose daring hand profanes The honored heirlooms of his ancestors. Moir.

Webster 1913