legacy

1 of 2

noun

leg·​a·​cy ˈle-gə-sē 

plural legacies

1

: a gift by will especially of money or other personal property : bequest

She left us a legacy of a million dollars.

2

: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past

the legacy of the ancient philosophers

The war left a legacy of pain and suffering.

3

: a candidate for membership in an organization (such as a school or fraternal order) who is given special status because of a familial relationship to a member

Legacies, or children of alumni, are three times more likely to be accepted to Harvard than other high school graduates with the same (sometimes better) scores …

—Michael Lind

legacy

2 of 2

adjective

1

: of, relating to, or being a previous or outdated computer system

transfer the legacy data

a legacy system

2

: of, relating to, associated with, or carried over from an earlier time, technology, business, etc.

And it is about more than just TV—newspapers, magazines, radio, all the "legacy" media are feeling the earth move beneath them. Journalists look out and see thousands of empty campus TV lounges and newsprint-less recycling bins and millions of iPads and smart phones and they wonder what's coming next.

—Dante Chinni

Following ISG's takeover, 100,000 Bethlehem retirees and their dependents also lost their medical coverage, and they will get only a fraction of their original pension benefits. Avoiding those expenses, known as legacy costs, will save ISG more than $400 million a year.

—Nelson D. Schwartz

Did you know?

In its basic meaning, a legacy is a gift of money or other personal property that's granted by the terms of a will—often a substantial gift that needs to be properly managed. But the word is used much more broadly as well. So, for instance, much of Western civilization—law, philosophy, aesthetics— could be called the undying legacy of ancient Greece. And the rights and opportunities that women enjoy today are partly the legacy of the early suffragists and feminists.

Synonyms

Noun

• inheritance

Examples of legacy in a Sentence

Noun

She left us a legacy of a million dollars.

He left his children a legacy of love and respect.

The war left a legacy of pain and suffering.

Her artistic legacy lives on through her children.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

For there are two legacies of the founding era that must be noticed, and both qualify as enormous tragedies. —Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025

The film was one of Dean's three major films and serves as a lasting part of his legacy. —Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025

Adjective

Legacy outdoor companies like Patagonia are selling food now, as are upstart outfits like Good to-Go, a Maine company that Jennifer Scism, 52, a chef and former partner at the acclaimed New York restaurant Annisa, started in 2014. —Atlanta Life, ajc, 7 July 2017

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English legacie office of a legate, bequest, from Anglo-French or Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, office of a legate, from Medieval Latin legatia, from Latin legatus

Adjective

from attributive use of legacy entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1514, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1984, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

legacy

noun

leg·​a·​cy

ˈleg-ə-sē

plural legacies

: something left to a person by or as if by will

Legal Definition

legacy

noun

leg·​a·​cy ˈle-gə-sē 

plural legacies

: 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

— demonstrative legacy \ di-​ˈmän-​strə-​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

— particular 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

— universal 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

Etymology

Noun

Medieval Latin legatio, from Latin legare to bequeath