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Webster 1913 Edition


Legacy

Leg′a-cy

(lĕg′ȧ-sy̆)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
Legacies
(-sĭz)
.
[L. (assumed)
legatia
, for
legatum
, from
legare
to appoint by last will, to bequeath as a legacy, to depute: cf. OF.
legat
legacy. See
Legate
.]
1.
A gift of property by will, esp. of money or personal property; a bequest. Also Fig.;
as, a
legacy
of dishonor or disease
.
2.
A business with which one is intrusted by another; a commission; – obsolete, except in the phrases last legacy, dying legacy, and the like.
My
legacy
and message wherefore I am sent into the world.
Tyndale.
He came and told his
legacy
.
Chapman.
Legacy duty
,
a tax paid to government on legacies.
Wharton.
Legacy hunter
,
one who flatters and courts any one for the sake of a legacy.

Webster 1828 Edition


Legacy

LEG'ACY

, [L. legatum, from lego, to send, to bequeath.]
A bequest; a particular thing, or certain sum of money given by last will or testament.
Good counsel is the best legacy a father can leave to his child.

Definition 2024


legacy

legacy

English

Noun

legacy (plural legacies)

  1. (law) Money or property bequeathed to someone in a will.
  2. Something inherited from a predecessor; a heritage.
    John Muir left as his legacy an enduring spirit of respect for the environment.
  3. (university and society admissions) The descendant of an alumnus.
    Because she was a legacy, her mother's sorority rushed her.

Translations

Adjective

legacy

  1. (computing) (Can we verify(+) this sense?) That has been in service for many years and that a business still relies upon, even though it is becoming expensive or difficult to maintain.
  2. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) Left behind; old or no longer in active use.
    They expect it to take years to process and import all the legacy data.
    A legacy number or legacy identifier means a number no longer in use (for a document, for example).

Translations