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legacy

[leg-uh-see]
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noun, plural leg·a·cies.
  1. Law. a gift of property, especially personal property, as money, by will; a bequest.
  2. anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor: the legacy of ancient Rome.
  3. an applicant to or student at a school that was attended by his or her parent.
  4. Obsolete. the office, function, or commission of a legate.
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adjective
  1. of or relating to old or outdated computer hardware, software, or data that, while still functional, does not work well with up-to-date systems.
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Origin of legacy

1325–75; Middle English legacie office of a deputy or legate < Medieval Latin lēgātia. See legate, -acy

Synonyms

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1, 2. inheritance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

tradition, gift, estate, birthright, heirloom, devise, endowment, bequest, throwback

Examples from the Web for legacy

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He came more and more to feel that Raby was a legacy left by Hetty to him.

  • The cheque was returned, the legacy refused, the writer being in no need of money.

    Howards End

    E. M. Forster

  • He had had several talks with Bradley and with her about her legacy from Judge Knowles.

    Fair Harbor

    Joseph Crosby Lincoln

  • He told of the lawyer's letter, omitting for the present the news of the legacy.

    Cap'n Dan's Daughter

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • And then, in this December of the year 1910, fell as from a clear sky the legacy of a grandson.

    The Portygee

    Joseph Crosby Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for legacy

legacy

noun plural -cies
  1. a gift by will, esp of money or personal property
  2. something handed down or received from an ancestor or predecessor
  3. (modifier) surviving computer systems, hardware, or softwarelegacy network; legacy application
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Word Origin

C14 (meaning: office of a legate), C15 (meaning: bequest): from Medieval Latin lēgātia commission; see legate
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for legacy

n.

late 14c., "body of persons sent on a mission," from Old French legatie "legate's office," from Medieval Latin legatia, from Latin legatus "ambassador, envoy," noun use of past participle of legare "appoint by a last will, send as a legate" (see legate). Sense of "property left by will" appeared in Scottish mid-15c.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper