legacy
Americannoun
-
legacies
plural
-
Law. a gift of property, especially personal property, such as money, by will; a bequest.
- Synonyms:
- inheritance
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anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor.
the legacy of ancient Rome.
- Synonyms:
- inheritance
-
an applicant to or student at the alma mater of their parent or parents.
As a legacy, he worried that professors would expect him to be less qualified than his peers.
-
Obsolete. the office, function, or commission of a legate.
adjective
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of or relating to old or outdated computer hardware, software, or data that, while still functional, does not work well with up-to-date systems.
Legacy systems put you at greater risk of cyberattacks.
-
of or relating to an existing system, process, or state of affairs inherited from the past and typically a burden.
legacy pollutants;
a legacy drainage system.
-
being or relating to a university applicant or student whose parent or other close relative attended the same school.
The admissions policies of most Ivy League schools favor legacy applicants.
noun
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a gift by will, esp of money or personal property
-
something handed down or received from an ancestor or predecessor
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(modifier) surviving computer systems, hardware, or software
legacy network
legacy application
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of legacy
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English legacie “office of a deputy or legate,” from Medieval Latin lēgātia, from Latin lēgāt(us) “deputy” ( see legate) + -ia, noun suffix ( cf. -acy)
Explanation
Use the word, legacy, for something handed down from one generation to the next. A retiring company president might leave a legacy of honesty and integrity. Legacy comes from the Latin verb, legare "to appoint by a last will, send as an ambassador." Originally, the noun meant "ambassador" or "envoy" but soon shifted to mean the money and property a person leaves behind in his will. Many university scholarships are funded by the legacies of former students. In recent usage, political leaders are said to be concerned with their legacies, the historically significant achievements of their tenure in office.
Vocabulary lists containing legacy
Maniac Magee
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Starting Your New Life: Inspiring Words from Commencement Speeches
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Conventional wisdom holds that new mayors will eventually select their own chief, a decision that is considered as important as any in defining a city leader’s legacy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Demonstrating the close business ties between the two partners, Bolat pointed to European automakers' long legacy in Turkey.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
You didn’t mention a legacy plan, but unless you have a purpose for that much money, you can spend a little more and still be considered cautious.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
"I named this frog after my mother so that her legacy would live on," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
He was a legacy kid: both his father and his grandfather had attended Granger.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
“Not all 17 players who passed me were using performance enhancers—but some were. I take the conversation seriously, because it’s impacted my legacy and the legacies of many others.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“What makes those decisions especially hard is that for so many, this isn’t just a business. These are family legacies built over generations.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Berlin still believes it has some influence over the deal through its representation on Commerzbank's supervisory board and its roughly 12-percent stake in the bank, both legacies of a state bailout during the financial crisis.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
Many institutions have adopted policies to aid minority and underprivileged students in an attempt to balance out legacies of discrimination in both higher education and American society.
From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026
These legacies may include the Uto-Aztecan languages of Mesoamerica and the western United States, the Oto-Manguean languages of Mesoamerica, the Natchez-Muskogean languages of the U.S.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
