English Lexicon

Posterity

/pɒˈstɛr.ə.ti/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #6500 frequency
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Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    All future generations of people.

    "We must protect the environment for the sake of posterity."
  2. 2

    The descendants of a specific person.

    "He left his vast estate to be divided among his immediate posterity."

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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the Latin noun posteritas, meaning 'descendants' or 'future time', stemming from the adjective posterus ('following' or 'subsequent'). Entering the English language in the late Middle Ages via Old French, the word evolved to denote all succeeding generations of a person or humanity at large.

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