pass on vs hand down

pass on and hand down both are verbs.

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

As verbs, hand down is a hyponym of pass on; that is, hand down is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than pass on:

Other hyponyms of pass on include propagate.

pass on (verb)	hand down (verb)
transmit information	passed on, as by inheritance
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