Legacy \Leg"a*cy\ (l[e^]g"[.a]*s[y^]), n.; pl. Legacies (-s[i^]z). [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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)