AboutTed Nesbitt Expertise I have an interest in the meanings of words and phrases, as well as how and when they became part of the English language. I enjoy
researching idioms, colloquialisms, dialects, and obscurities of
all kinds. I prefer short questions on a particular subject, and
I will not accept lengthy research projects or term papers. NOTE: ALLEXPERTS CLAIMS THAT I TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN AND FROM LATIN TO ENGLISH. I DO NOT. ALLEXPERTS REFUSES TO DELETE THE LATIN-TO-ENGLISH SERVICE -- ONE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE.
TRUST ME ON THIS: ALLEXPERTS IS WRONG. I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LANGUAGE. LOOK FOR A LANGUAGE EXPERT INSTEAD. ETYMOLOGY AND TRANSLATING SERVICES ARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. ALLEXPERTS SHOULD KNOW THAT. ALLEXPERTS DOES NOT KNOW THAT. I HAVE TRIED FOR MANY YEARS TO GET THEM TO CHANGE. THEY WILL NOT. SORRY, BUT I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN.
Experience I am the bibliographic instruction and reference librarian at a public
college. My master's thesis concerns William Faulkner's tragic novels. I formerly taught advanced placement English at two schools in the Philadelphia area.
I have been a member of the grammar and writing section of Allexperts
for more than a year.
Education/Credentials Masters degrees in English, philosophy, and library science.
Question What was the original meaning of the two components "heir" and "loom" ? How did they combine to become "treasured object passed down through family generations"?
Answer Maggi:
"Heirloom" is a compound word, the kind of word that is frequently "coined" in our language, because we have a tendency to link two nouns, first using one as an adjective to describe the other, and then actually joining the two words to make one word. The usual pattern in the English language is to use the two words separately and then, over a period of years [which could be 10 or 100] we combine them. For instance, a court house was originally the combination of two nouns -- a court, where legal cases were heard, and a house, which is a building. Over a period of time, we joined the words together using a hyphen: court-house. Then, as we are accustomed to do, we got rid of the hyphen, so that our current word is "courthouse." That is a combined word: from an noun [used as an adjective] with another noun, to a hyphenated expression, to one single word.
The same case applies to heir and loom.
"Heir" arrived in the English language via the Middle English, who got it from the Old French, who took it from the Latin word "heres," which is related to the Greek word "cheros." The Latin "heres" actually means "heir."
We also get such words as "heredity" from the same Latin root. "Heir" became part of the English language sometime in the 13th century. No one knows the actual date.
"Loom" comes from the Middle English "lome," which was a tool used for weaving, as well as being a generic word for any other type of tool, such as a farming implement. It is related to the Middle Dutch word "allame," which also is a weaving tool. But, as the working of the loom for weaving was a gradual process and the cloth appeared slowly, the finished product was said "to loom." From the sense, we get "loom" as a verb, meaning "to take shape as an impending occurrence."
"Heirloom" is a combination of those two ideas -- it cannot be a "gift" from a father or mother or some other elder in the family, because that would negate the "impending occurrence" aspect. An heirloom is "passed on" to the next generation, but in its original meaning, it was part of an estate -- not an outright gift from one person to another. Thus, it is an "impending" item that is passed from one generation to another, because of "heres" or "heredity."
Various dictionaries [including "Webster's Third Unabridged International"] provide the "impending" part of the meaning, but "The American Heritage Dictionary of the Engish Language" does not mention it. They believe that the original "heirlooms" were not items like jewelry or fine china, but were actually looms [for weaving] and other TOOLS, which I suppose would be valuable.
From "The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language" --
NOUN: 1. A valued possession passed down in a family through succeeding generations. 2. An article of personal property included in an inherited estate. ETYMOLOGY: Middle English heirlome : heir, heir; + lome, implement; see loom2
Maggi, this has been quite comprehensive -- perhaps too much so. I hope I haven't overwhelmed you.
Ted Nesbitt
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If you appreciate my response, please take the time to evaluate me. Thank you. TN
