Legacy
nounMoney, property, or anything else handed down from the past or left to someone, often through a will.
How to spell legacy
6 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce legacy
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does legacy mean?
- nounMoney, property, or anything else handed down from the past or left to someone, often through a will.
- adjectiveDescribing old technology or systems still in use despite being outdated or superseded.
Legacy in a sentence
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noun
Her grandmother left a small legacy to each of the cousins.
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adjective
The bank still relies on a legacy database written decades ago.
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noun
The retiring coach was proud of the legacy he left at the club.
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adjective
Migrating away from the legacy software took the team two years.
Where does legacy come from?
Language of origin: Latin
This word descends from the Latin verb legare, meaning 'to appoint by will' or 'to bequeath', which itself grew out of lex, the Latin word for 'law'. From legare came the medieval Latin noun legatia, describing a gift or bequest left to someone in a will. English picked the word up in the late 1300s through Old French legacie, and at first it referred quite narrowly to property or money handed down to an heir. Over the centuries the meaning broadened from material inheritance to anything passed on from the past, including reputations, traditions, and consequences. The same lex and legare roots survive in relatives such as 'legal', 'legislate', and 'delegate', and the single c followed by -y is the spot writers second-guess, since the ending sounds like it could be -asy or -ecy.
How the word is built
- leg- (from Latin legare: to bequeath, appoint by will)
- -acy (noun-forming suffix)
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