posterity

[ po-ster-i-tee ]

/ pɒˈstɛr ɪ ti /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR posterity ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

succeeding or future generations collectively: Judgment of this age must be left to posterity.

all descendants of one person: His fortune was gradually dissipated by his posterity.

QUIZZES

Discover The Influence Of Portuguese On English Via This Quiz!

We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?

Question 1 of 11

Which of the following bird names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?

owl

crow

piranha

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby posterity

posterior tibial muscle, posterior tibial vein, posterior vein of left ventricle, posterior vein of septum pellucidum, posteriority, posterity, posterization, postern, postero-, posteroanterior, posteroexternal

Origin of posterity

1350–1400; Middle English posterite < Latin posteritās, noun derivative of posterus coming after. See posterior, -ity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for posterity

Obtaining this understanding and posterity is easy, according to the website.
Rand Paul’s Many Leather-Bound Books|Olivia Nuzzi|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As he once told Brassai, the Gagosian exhibition catalog states, “I want to leave as complete a record as possible for posterity.”
Revealing The Unseen Picasso|Justin Jones|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her face was cast into a plaster mold, preserving her shy smile for posterity.
Brooklyn’s Museum of Death: Inside Morbid Anatomy’s House of Intriguing Horrors|Nina Strochlic|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And our victory in that war decided not just a century, but shaped the security and well-being of all posterity.
D-Day 70th Anniversary Celebrations: Queen, Obama, Merkel, Putin and Cameron in France|Tom Sykes|June 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

If not for posterity, if not for the defense of the United States Constitution, then do it for Mickey.
Our Dumb Puritan Laws: Sex Bans and Illegal Adultery|Kevin Bleyer|April 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Comedy is the title which Dante gives to his trilogy and posterity has added the prefix adjective divine.
Dante: "The Central Man of All the World"|John T. Slattery
Still the falsehood will go down to posterity,” said Lady Clementina; “and after ages will think I was a gambler.
Nature and Art|Mrs. Inchbald
It is only now, now, for the first time, that I have been fancying myself going down to posterity in the company of the immortals.
The Gorgeous Isle|Gertrude Atherton
The nature of her relations to him should ensure the preservation of her name to posterity.
Women of Modern France (Illustrated)|Hugo Paul Thieme (1870-1940)
To have broken his word is a crime for which posterity will never forgive Moore.
My Recollections of Lord Byron|Teresa Guiccioli

British Dictionary definitions for posterity

posterity

/ (pɒˈstɛrɪtɪ) /

noun

future or succeeding generations

all of one's descendants

Word Origin for posterity

C14: from French postérité, from Latin posteritās future generations, from posterus coming after, from post after

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

posterity

noun

QUIZZES

Words related to posterity

Words nearby posterity

Origin of posterity

Example sentences from the Web for posterity

British Dictionary definitions for posterity

noun

Word Origin for posterity