Legacie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A gift of money or property bequeathed to someone in a will ; an inheritance or lasting effect passed down from earlier generations or times
2. Assets left to a beneficiary after death through a will ; the lasting influence or consequences that remain from earlier events or people
3. Money or possessions bestowed on an heir by a testator ; a lasting impact or tradition inherited from those who came before

Etymology: Before it meant money or property left behind, this word meant an errand. It comes from Medieval Latin "legatia," the office or mission of a "legatus," an envoy or deputy sent on someone else's behalf. The Latin verb "legare" meant to dispatch someone with authority, and a legate was a person sent out with a commission. The shift to inheritance grew from that same verb, which also meant to bequeath. A commission entrusted to a representative could be entrusted to an heir through a will, so the sense moved from a mission to a gift handed on by a testator. Middle English "legacie" carried both senses, and the bequest meaning became the everyday one, while the envoy sense survives mainly in the related word "legate."