passes down
Transfers to heirs
Passes down means to transfer something from one generation to the next: The recipe has been passed down through five generations.
What gets passed down is usually intangible—traditions, stories, knowledge, traits—though heirlooms and property qualify too.
The phrase emphasizes continuity across time, with each generation receiving from the one before and potentially giving to the one after.
- heirloomsObjects passed through family lines
- grandmother's ringAncestral jewelry piece inherited
- family recipeAncestral cooking instructions
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- DNAHereditary code molecule
folklore · old wives' tales · bedtime stories · ancestral wisdom · life lessons · estate · education · bequest · customs · genes · oral tradition · apprenticeship · trade secrets · cultural preservation · property · storytelling · rituals · assets