I. ˈlegəsē, -si noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English legacie, from Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French legacie, from Medieval Latin legatia office or jurisdiction of a legate, from Latin legatus (past participle of legare to send as a deputy, bequeath) + -ia -y — more at legate
1. obsolete
a. : the office, dignity, or function of a legate
b. : the business committed to a legate : commission 3
he came and told his legacy — George Chapman
2. : a gift by will especially of money or other personal property : bequest 2 — compare cumulative 2b, demonstrative legacy , devise , general legacy , modal , residuary legacy , specific legacy II
3.
a. : something received (as from an ancestor or predecessor) resembling or suggestive of a gift by will
their chief intellectual legacy to posterity — Norman Douglas
men whose main legacy to us was a simple, direct … style — D.J.Lloyd
she has left her granddaughter a rich legacy of expert knowledge — Alice Winchester
b. : something coming from the past (as from an age, event, or policy)
a beautiful legacy from the age of Enlightenment — F.J.Mather
one … legacy of the Roman domination of Europe — Harvey Graham
military intervention … continued as a legacy of the dollar diplomacy — R.M.Lovett
4. : a candidate for membership in an organization (as a fraternity) who is given special status because he is related to a member
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
archaic : to give as a legacy