Leg"a*cy (?), n.; pl.Legacies (#). [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.<-- related to gold-digger (latter for any riches, not just a legacy) -->
© Webster 1913.