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legacy - 6 dictionary results

leg⋅a⋅cy

  [leg-uh-see] noun, plural -cies.
Use legacy in a Sentence
1. Law. a gift of property, esp. 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.
–adjective
5. of or pertaining to old or outdated computer hardware, software, or data that, while still functional, does not work well with up-to-date systems.
Origin:
1325–75; ME legacie office of a deputy or legate < ML lēgātia. See legate, -acy

Synonyms:
1, 2. inheritance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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leg·a·cy   (lěg'ə-sē)   
n.   pl. leg·a·cies
  1. Money or property bequeathed to another by will.
  2. Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past: a legacy of religious freedom. See Synonyms at heritage.

[Middle English legacie, office of a deputy, from Old French, from Medieval Latin lēgātia, from Latin lēgātus, past participle of lēgāre, to depute, bequeath; see leg- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Legacy

Leg"a*cy\ (l[e^]g"[.a]*s[y^]), n.; pl. Legacies (-s[i^]z). [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's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : legacy
Spanish: herencia,
German: das Vermächtnis,
Japanese: 遺産
More Translations »

legacy 
c.1375, "body of persons sent on a mission," from O.Fr. legacie "legate's office," from M.L. legatia, from L. legatus "ambassador, envoy," noun use of pp. of legare "appoint by a last will, send as a legate" (see legate). Sense of "property left by will" appeared in Scot. c.1460.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: leg·a·cy
Pronunciation: 'le-g&-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -cies
Etymology: Medieval Latin legatio, from Latin legare to bequeath
: a gift of property by will; specifically : a gift of personal property by will : BEQUEST —see also ADEMPTION —compare DEVISE
conjoint legacy
in the civil law of Louisiana : a legacy by a single disposition to more than one legatee or of indivisible property to more than one legatee
de·mon·stra·tive legacy
/di-'män-str&-tiv-/
: a legacy payable from a designated fund or asset or from the general assets of the estate to the extent the specified fund or asset fails to satisfy the legacy
general legacy
: a legacy payable out of the general assets of the estate
legacy under a universal title
in the civil law of Louisiana : a legacy that consists of a specified proportion (as one-half), a specified type (as movables), or a specified proportion of a specified type of the testator's property
par·tic·u·lar legacy
in the civil law of Louisiana : any legacy that is not a universal legacy or a legacy under a universal title called also legacy under particular title
residuary legacy
: a legacy that consists of all of the testator's estate which has not been distributed through other legacies or charges upon the estate
specific legacy
: a legacy payable only from a specific fund or asset in the estate
uni·ver·sal legacy
in the civil law of Louisiana : a legacy by which a testator gives to one or more legatees all of his or her property at the time of death
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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legacy

in law, generally a gift of property by will or testament. The term is used to denote the disposition of either personal or real property in the event of death.

Learn more about legacy with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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