legacy
le·ga·cy/ˈlɛɡəsi/noun, adjective
legacy is spelled L-E-G-A-C-Y: 6 letters and 3 syllables (le·ga·cy). It appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,814th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, legacy means “Money or property bequeathed to someone in a will” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of legacy is legacies.
How many letters and syllables are in legacy?
| Letters | 6: L-E-G-A-C-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: le·ga·cy |
| In writing | 23 times per million words; the 3,814th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is legacy?
Legacy appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,814th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce legacy?
- US /ˈlɛɡəsi/
- /ˈleɪɡəsi/
- Australia /ˈleɡəsi/
Legacy has 3 syllables, split le·ga·cy in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-legacy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of legacy
- legacies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does legacy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Money or property bequeathed to someone in a will.
- 2
Something inherited from a predecessor or the past.
John Muir left as his legacy an enduring spirit of respect for the environment.
- 3
The descendant of an alumnus, given preference in academic admissions.
Because she was a legacy, her mother's sorority rushed her.
adjective
- 1
Left over from the past; old and no longer current.
- 2
Belonging to a class of boardgame where permanent changes are made to game elements such as the board, cards and rules over multiple play sessions.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Legacy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | legs , héritage |
| German | Vermächtnis , Wirken, Erbe, Hinterlassenschaft , hinterlassen, vererbt |
| Portuguese | legado |
| Spanish | legado , heredado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does legacy come from?
From Middle English legacie, from Old French legacie and Medieval Latin lēgātia, from Latin lēgātum. Compare legatee. The boardgame sense was coined by game designer Rob Daviau in 2011 with the game Risk Legacy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).