posterity means all the future generations, especially the descendants of a specific person. It carries an Arena rating of 1500, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, posterity ranks #2,517 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,592 of 14,423 for Most Sublime Words, #2,678 of 14,410 for Most Ponderous Words, #6,640 of 14,308 for Most Malleable Words.
posterity is pronounced /pɒˈstɛɹɪti/.
Why “posterity” is a great word
The entirety of future generations, considered as the collective inheritors of legacy and the ultimate audience for human endeavor. From Middle French *posterité*, from Latin *posteritās* ('future generations, a coming after'), from *posterus* ('coming after, future'), from *post* ('after'); first attested in English in the late 14th century. Unlike 'progeny,' which narrows to one's immediate offspring, or 'ancestry,' which looks backward to a fixed lineage, posterity is the vast, open-ended continuum forward. It is the unread name carved on a foundation stone, the child who inherits a field cleared of stones, the stranger who speaks your name centuries hence because you once carved it into bark—a testament to our fragile urge to build for witnesses we will never meet.
Etymology
Late 14th century, from Middle French posterité, from Latin posteritas, from posterus (“following, coming after”), from post (“after”) (English post-).
noun
- All the future generations, especially the descendants of a specific person.“That woman foretold and inflicted a singular disease on Sigvard and his posterity till the ninth generation, and several of his descendants are to this day afflicted with it.”
- Future audiences, future times, future recognition.
Words closest in meaning
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