heirlooms
heirlooms — 名詞
1. valuable possessions, such as jewellery, watches, or furniture, that one generat
傳家寶
家族世代相傳的貴重物品
valuable possessions, such as jewellery, watches, or furniture, that one generation of a family passes on to the next over a long period of time.
Sari keeps her grandmother's pearl earrings and silver brooch as family heirlooms.
Sari 把祖母的珍珠耳環和銀胸針當作家族傳家寶保存著。
collocation: family heirlooms
The Watanabe family lost most of their heirlooms in the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
Watanabe 一家在一九九五年神戶大地震中失去了大部分的傳家寶。
possessive + heirlooms in main clause
Christopher inherited two gold pocket watches and a violin as heirlooms from his great-uncle.
Christopher 從伯祖父那裡繼承了兩只金懷錶和一把小提琴作為傳家寶。
Many of the heirlooms on display were donated by old farming families in the village.
展出的傳家寶有許多是村裡老農家所捐贈的。
Dahlia carefully wrapped the porcelain teacups, the only heirlooms her mother had saved from the war.
Dahlia 小心翼翼地包好那些瓷茶杯，那是她母親在戰時唯一保下來的傳家寶。
文法句型
family heirloom
pass down heirlooms
用法筆記
Almost always plural in this sense. Frequently paired with 'family' as the modifier (a family heirloom / family heirlooms), and with verbs like 'pass down', 'inherit', 'keep'.
常見錯誤
2. fruits, vegetables, or seeds of an older traditional kind that small growers hav
古早品種
代代留種的傳統蔬果或穀類
fruits, vegetables, or seeds of an older traditional kind that small growers have kept alive across many generations, instead of the modern commercial types sold in supermarkets.
Gita grows tomato heirlooms from seeds her grandmother brought from the village near Pune.
Gita 用祖母從浦那附近村子帶來的種子種植番茄古早品種。
noun-noun: tomato heirlooms
The Saturday market in Asheville sells heirlooms of squash, beans, and peppers grown by local farmers.
Asheville 的週六市集販售當地農民種的南瓜、豆類和辣椒等古早品種。
collocation: heirlooms of [crop]
Baraka and his neighbours started a small garden of African heirlooms — sorghum, okra, and bitter leaf.
Baraka 和鄰居一起開了一個小菜園，種植高粱、秋葵、苦葉菜等非洲古早品種。
Old apple heirlooms taste richer than supermarket varieties but bruise more easily during transport.
老蘋果古早品種的滋味比超市的品種更濃郁，但運送時更容易碰傷。
Élise saves seeds every autumn so her favourite pumpkin heirlooms survive another year on the farm.
Élise 每年秋天都會留種，好讓她最喜歡的南瓜古早品種能在農場上再活一年。
- heritage varieties
near-equivalent; common in UK gardening contexts
- traditional cultivars
technical; used in horticulture and seed-saving literature
- hybrids
modern crosses bred for yield, uniformity, and shipping; the usual contrast
文法句型
grow heirlooms
heirlooms from + source
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense never refers to family possessions; it is about plant or seed varieties. Almost always plural and modified by the crop name ('tomato heirlooms', 'apple heirlooms') or by an adjective of origin ('African heirlooms').
常見錯誤
heirlooms — 形容詞
1. describing a traditional variety of fruit, vegetable, or seed that small growers
古早種的
形容代代留種的傳統蔬果
describing a traditional variety of fruit, vegetable, or seed that small growers have kept alive across many generations, in contrast with modern commercial varieties bred for supermarkets.
Zayd planted six heirloom tomato seeds in the small greenhouse behind the school.
Zayd 在學校後面的小溫室裡種下六顆古早種的番茄種子。
attributive: heirloom + tomato
The chef in Lyon prefers heirloom carrots because they have a sweeter, earthier flavour than supermarket ones.
里昂的廚師偏好古早種的紅蘿蔔，因為味道比超市買的更甜、更有土香。
contrast with modern varieties
Tamar runs a seed bank in northern Israel that protects heirloom wheat strains from disappearing.
Tamar 在以色列北部經營一家種子銀行，保護古早種的小麥不致消失。
Old farmers in the Andes still plant heirloom potatoes in dozens of colours and shapes.
安地斯山區的老農民至今仍栽種顏色與形狀各異的古早種馬鈴薯。
Constanza's market stall sells heirloom apples, pears, and quinces from her family orchard.
Constanza 的市集攤位賣的是她家果園出產的古早種蘋果、梨和木梨。
- heritage
very close equivalent; 'heritage wheat', 'heritage breeds'; slightly more common in UK English
- traditional
broader; covers methods and recipes, not only plant varieties
- hybrid
modern bred variety; the standard contrast in horticulture
- commercial
grown at scale for supermarkets; the everyday contrast
文法句型
heirloom + noun (tomato / seed / apple)
用法筆記
Attributive only — comes before a noun and cannot stand alone after 'be' ('the tomato is heirloom' is not used). Restricted to crops, plants, and seeds; not used of jewellery or furniture even though the noun sense 1 covers those.