legacy
5
6.1
- noun
- /ˈlɛɡəsi/
- Formal
- The antique watch was a legacy left to her in her grandfather's will.
- cash legacies
Examples
-
Now, through the Julia Eastwood-Mitchell scholarship fund, that gift will be her legacy.
-
The single strand of pearls was a legacy from her paternal grandmother and was much loved.
Fiction book (1999) -
- Hey, this is your family legacy, kid.
-
Well, he left you a hell of a legacy.
-
I'll take care of your parents' legacy, Bruce.
-
Mom left us a legacy of love, Ellen thought with clarity.
Fiction book (1998) -
The most tangible legacy of their marriage was a son, Carl, born July 4, 1917.
Academic text (1990) -
He received a generous legacy from his late aunt, who had always cared for him.
-
The old house was a family legacy that had been passed down through generations.
Synonyms
97
3.2
Money or property left to someone when a person dies
7
8.1
A gift of money or things left to someone in a will
Compounds
- Formal
1
7.6
Long-lasting political, economic, and social problems that continue after one country ruled another
- Formal
1
7.0
Long-lasting political, social, and cultural effects that continue because of the Soviet Union
1
6.4
Things, traditions and values family members pass down from earlier generations
How Valuable
Surface Forms
Etymology
Legacy comes from an old Latin word legare meaning 'to send' or 'to leave to someone in a will'. So a legacy is like something 'sent' to you after someone dies, which makes it easy to remember the legal meaning of a gift left in a will and links to the same root as delegate, which also has the idea of 'sending'.