The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.]
A gift of property by will, esp. of money or personal property; a bequest. Also Fig.; as, a legacy of dishonor or disease.
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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.