Hand-me-down


[hand-mee-doun, han-] /ˈhænd miˌdaʊn, ˈhæn-/

noun
1.
an article of clothing passed on to another person after being used, outgrown, etc.:
The younger children wore the hand-me-downs of the older ones.
2.
any item not new that is or can be used again:
Our office furniture was a collection of hand-me-downs.
adjective
3.
passed along for further use by others:
some hand-me-down clothes from my older brother.
4.
borrowed or adapted from other sources; derivative:
a street full of hand-me-down architecture.
noun (informal)
1.

2.

adj.

as a modifier, attested by 1826.

modifier

: apair of hand-me-down pants/ fetch-me-down ski boots

noun

Something, esp clothing, used by one person and then passed to another, esp to a younger sibling: I wore mostly my brother’s hand-me-downs (1874+)

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