Legacy
noun /ˈlɛɡəsi/ — What you leave behind — in people, in work, in the world — after you're gone.
Definition
Something handed down from a predecessor; an amount or quality passed on to those who come after, whether money, ideas, values, or consequences.
Beyond the definition
Legacy is the word we use when we're thinking about what outlasts us. It sits at the intersection of mortality and meaning — the human hope that something we did mattered enough to persist.
Origin & history
From Old French legs, from Latin legatum — a bequest. From legare: to appoint as deputy, to bequeath. Originally strictly legal — what you leave in a will.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
Her greatest legacy wasn't her books but the writers she'd encouraged into existence.
He thought about legacy constantly — the kind of thinking that can make you either more careful or more reckless.
Every institution is a legacy: someone's accumulated decisions, still governing people who never met them.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Legacy” when the meaning fits your context: Something handed down from a predecessor; an amount or quality passed on to those who come after, whether money, ideas, values, or consequences.
Synonyms
Antonyms
oblivion, erasure
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Landscape with Ruins and City
An adult stands on a hill looking out over a landscape that clearly shows two layers of time: ancient, crumbling ruins and a modern city.
A legacy is something handed down from a predecessor. The ruins in the foreground represent the history and cultural consequences passed down to the modern city in the distance, illustrating how the past continuously shapes the present, creating a tangible sense of what has been left for those who come after.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Legacy" mean?
Legacy is noun meaning: What you leave behind — in people, in work, in the world — after you're gone.. Something handed down from a predecessor; an amount or quality passed on to those who come after, whether money, ideas, values, or consequences.
Where does the word "Legacy" come from?
From Old French legs, from Latin legatum — a bequest. From legare: to appoint as deputy, to bequeath. Originally strictly legal — what you leave in a will.