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gift of property by will, esp. of money or personal property; a bequest. Also Fig.; as, a legacy of dishonor or disease.

The act of delegating, or state of being delegated; deputed power. [Obs.] By way of delegacy or grand commission. Sir W. Raleigh.

To revoke, as a legacy, grant, etc., or to satisfy it by some other gift.

The revocation or taking away of a grant donation, legacy, or the like. Bouvier.

That which is left by will, esp. personal property; a legacy; also, a gift.

r effect on something that may or may not occur; as, a contingent estate. If a contingent legacy be left to any one when he attains, or if he attains, the age of twenty-one. Blackstone.

Given by same testator to the same legatee; -- said of a legacy. Bouvier. Wharton.

A donation or legacy appropriated to support a charitable institution, and constituting a permanent fund; endowment. He was entered on the foundation of Westminster. Macaulay.

Ineffectual, void, or forfeited; as, a lapsed policy of insurance; a lapsed legacy. Lapsed devise, Lapsed legacy (Law), a devise, or legacy, which fails to take effect in consequence of the death of the devisee, or legatee, before that of the testator, or for ether cause. Wharton (Law Dict.).

at death; hence, to bequeath; as, he left a large estate; he left a good name; he left a legacy to his niece. To leave alone. (a) To leave in solitude. (b) To desist or refrain from having to do with; as, to leave dangerous chemicals alone. -- To leave off. (a) To desist from; to forbear; to stop; as, to leave off wo…

One to whom a legacy is bequeathed.

A testator; one who bequeaths a legacy. Dryden.

s compared with that of some other body or bodies referred to as a standard. -- Specific legacy (Law), a bequest of a particular thing, as of a particular animal or piece of furniture, specified and distinguished from all others. Wharton. Burrill. -- Specific name (Nat., Hist.), the name which, appended to the name o…

The designation of a person in a will to take a devise or legacy, either on failure of a former devisee or legatee by incapacity or unwillingness to accept, or after him. Burrill.

sed by an heir or legatee of transmitting to his successor or successors any inheritance, legacy, right, or privilege, to which he is entitled, even if he should die without enjoying or exercising it.

a state of contingency or suspension; fixed; as, vested rights; vested interests. Vested legacy (Law), a legacy the right to which commences in præsenti, and does not depend on a contingency; as, a legacy to one to be paid when he attains to twenty-one years of age is a vested legacy, and if the legatee dies before th…

An unexpected legacy, or other gain. He had a mighty windfall out of doubt. B. Jonson.