Leg″a‐cy (lĕg″ȧ‐sy̆), n.; pl.Legacies (–sĭz). [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.] 1. A gift of property by will, esp. of money or personal property; a bequest. Also Fig.; as, a legacy of dishonor or disease.
2. 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.