\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.