hand down vs pass on

hand down and pass on both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
hand down	No	No	Yes	No
pass on	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, pass on is a hypernym of hand down; that is, pass on is a word with a broader meaning than hand down:

hand down (verb)	pass on (verb)
passed on, as by inheritance	transmit information
	cause to be distributed
	move forward, also in the metaphorical sense
	give to or transfer possession of
	place into the hands or custody of
	transmit (knowledge or skills)
	refer to another person for decision or judgment