A bequest is something given or left to a person or an institution by the will of a benefactor. A legacy is something given or passed on by an ancestor, a predecessor or an earlier era, and may be contained in a will or transmitted informally or automatically: to receive a legacy of a million dollars from the estate of a deceased aunt; to be heir to a legacy of good will through his father’s reputation.

• The United Nations was left a legacy of unsolved problems by the League of Nations.

An endowment is something settled or bestowed on a person or institution, and is not necessarily a posthumous gift. A philanthropist may, during his lifetime, establish an endowment for scholarships at a university or may bestow upon a deserving student an endowment for paying the costs of his education.