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postérité

posterity, future generations

noun pos-teh-ree-TEH Rare

Origin: From Latin 'posteritas'.

Also means

descendants

Usage Note

Postérité is used in the phrase passer à la postérité ('to go down in history') or laisser quelque chose à la postérité ('to leave something for posterity'). It is uncountable in the abstract sense of 'future generations', but can mean 'descendants' more concretely. The word is formal and literary in register.

Examples

"Cette oeuvre a été saluée par la postérité."

Natural Translation

This work was celebrated by posterity.

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