Definition of the word legend

1

a

: a story coming down from the past

especially

: one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable

the legend of a lost continent

b

: a body of such stories

a place in the legend of the frontier

c

: a popular myth of recent origin

the legend of the Loch Ness monster

d

: a person or thing that inspires legends

e

: the subject of a legend

its violence was legend even in its own time—William Broyles Jr.

2

a

: an inscription or title on an object (such as a coin)

The quarter bore the legend «In God We Trust».

b

: caption sense 2b

The legend identifies the various parts of the illustrated anatomy.

c

: an explanatory list of the symbols on a map or chart

Synonyms

Example Sentences



I don’t believe the legends I’ve heard about this forest.



the legend of a lost continent



He has become a baseball legend.



The gravestone bears the legend “Rest in Peace.”

Recent Examples on the Web

Poke around the freshwater caves which feature prominently in the local legend of Princess Popoalaea who was supposed to have been murdered at the cave.


—Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, 26 Mar. 2023




Maybe, having in his 20s tried to become Jackie Chan, that man at the bazaar those years ago, maybe Scott wants to be the one giving awards, having become the legend.


—Joshua St. Clair, Men’s Health, 24 Mar. 2023




The legend is that a Chinese chef invented it in India, using Sichuan peppers to make a tangy, salty, slightly sweet and slightly spicy sauce.


—Amisha Gurbani, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Mar. 2023




Great man, unbelievable goalscorer and an England legend.


—Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2023




San Diegans get two chances to see and hear the musical legend.


—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2023




One night, however — according to a mishmash of history and legend — a miller’s daughter named Violetta managed to fight him off.


—Jon Mooallem Andrea Frazzetta, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2023




In Ravkan history and legend, the Shadow Fold was created by a Shadow Summoner known as the Black Heretic, a Darkling similar to General Kirigan (Ben Barnes).


—Lauren Puckett-pope, ELLE, 16 Mar. 2023




Scialfa, who is also a musician, then joined the music legend and the E Street Band on their 1984 Born in the U.S.A Tour as a backup vocalist.


—Adam England, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2023


See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘legend.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English legende, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French legende, from Medieval Latin legenda, from Latin, feminine of legendus, gerundive of legere to gather, select, read; akin to Greek legein to gather, say, logos speech, word, reason

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of legend was
in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near legend

Cite this Entry

“Legend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.

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Merriam-Webster unabridged

Источник

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Look up legend in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller or listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. Legend, for its active and passive participants may include miracles. Legends may be transformed over time to keep them fresh and vital.

Many legends operate within the realm of uncertainty, never being entirely believed by the participants, but also never being resolutely doubted.[1] Legends are sometimes distinguished from myths in that they concern human beings as the main characters rather than gods, and sometimes in that they have some sort of historical basis whereas myths generally do not.[2][3] The Brothers Grimm defined legend as «folktale historically grounded».[4] A by-product of the «concern with human beings» is the long list of legendary creatures, leaving no «resolute doubt» that legends are «historically grounded.»

A modern folklorist’s professional definition of legend was proposed by Timothy R. Tangherlini in 1990:[5]

Legend, typically, is a short (mono-) episodic, traditional, highly ecotypified[6] historicized narrative performed in a conversational mode, reflecting on a psychological level a symbolic representation of folk belief and collective experiences and serving as a reaffirmation of commonly held values of the group to whose tradition it belongs.

Etymology and origin[edit]

Legend is a loanword from Old French that entered English usage circa 1340. The Old French noun legende derives from the Medieval Latin legenda.[7] In its early English-language usage, the word indicated a narrative of an event. The word legendary was originally a noun (introduced in the 1510s) meaning a collection or corpus of legends.[8][9] This word changed to legendry, and legendary became the adjectival form.[8]

By 1613, English-speaking Protestants began to use the word when they wished to imply that an event (especially the story of any saint not acknowledged in John Foxe’s Actes and Monuments) was fictitious. Thus, legend gained its modern connotations of «undocumented» and «spurious», which distinguish it from the meaning of chronicle.[10]

In 1866, Jacob Grimm described the fairy tale as «poetic, legend historic.»[11] Early scholars such as Karl Wehrhan [de][12] Friedrich Ranke[13] and Will Erich Peuckert[14] followed Grimm’s example in focussing solely on the literary narrative, an approach that was enriched particularly after the 1960s,[15] by addressing questions of performance and the anthropological and psychological insights provided in considering legends’ social context. Questions of categorising legends, in hopes of compiling a content-based series of categories on the line of the Aarne–Thompson folktale index, provoked a search for a broader new synthesis.
In an early attempt at defining some basic questions operative in examining folk tales, Friedrich Ranke [de] in 1925[16] characterised the folk legend as «a popular narrative with an objectively untrue imaginary content», a dismissive position that was subsequently largely abandoned.[17]

Compared to the highly structured folktale, legend is comparatively amorphous, Helmut de Boor noted in 1928.[18] The narrative content of legend is in realistic mode, rather than the wry irony of folktale;[19] Wilhelm Heiske[20] remarked on the similarity of motifs in legend and folktale and concluded that, in spite of its realistic mode, legend is not more historical than folktale.

In Einleitung in der Geschichtswissenschaft (1928), Ernst Bernheim asserted that a legend is simply a longstanding rumour.[21] Gordon Allport credited the staying-power of some rumours to the persistent cultural state-of-mind that they embody and capsulise;[22] thus «Urban legends» are a feature of rumour.[23] When Willian Hugh Jansen suggested that legends that disappear quickly were «short-term legends» and the persistent ones be termed «long-term legends», the distinction between legend and rumour was effectively obliterated, Tangherlini concluded.[24]

Christian legenda[edit]

In a narrow Christian sense, legenda («things to be read [on a certain day, in church]») were hagiographical accounts, often collected in a legendary. Because saints’ lives are often included in many miracle stories, legend, in a wider sense, came to refer to any story that is set in a historical context, but that contains supernatural, divine or fantastic elements.[25]

[edit]

Giants Mata and Grifone, celebrated in the streets of Messina, Italy, the second week of August, according to a legend are founders of the Sicilian city.

Hippolyte Delehaye distinguished legend from myth: «The legend, on the other hand, has, of necessity, some historical or topographical connection. It refers imaginary events to some real personage, or it localizes romantic stories in some definite spot.»[26]

From the moment a legend is retold as fiction, its authentic legendary qualities begin to fade and recede: in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving transformed a local Hudson River Valley legend into a literary anecdote with «Gothic» overtones, which actually tended to diminish its character as genuine legend.[27]

Stories that exceed the boundaries of «realism» are called «fables». For example, the talking animal formula of Aesop identifies his brief stories as fables, not legends. The parable of the Prodigal Son would be a legend if it were told as having actually happened to a specific son of a historical father. If it included a donkey that gave sage advice to the Prodigal Son it would be a fable.[citation needed]

Legend may be transmitted orally, passed on person-to-person, or, in the original sense, through written text. Jacobus de Voragine’s Legenda Aurea or «The Golden Legend» comprises a series of vitae or instructive biographical narratives, tied to the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. They are presented as lives of the saints, but the profusion of miraculous happenings and above all their uncritical context are characteristics of hagiography. The Legenda was intended to inspire extemporized homilies and sermons appropriate to the saint of the day.[28]

Urban legend[edit]

The tale of the White Lady who haunts Union Cemetery is a variant of the Vanishing hitchhiker legend.

Urban legends are a modern genre of folklore that is rooted in local popular culture, usually comprising fictional stories that are often presented as true, with macabre or humorous elements. These legends can be used for entertainment purposes, as well as semi-serious explanations for seemingly-mysterious events, such as disappearances and strange objects.

The term «urban legend,» as used by folklorists, has appeared in print since at least 1968.[29] Jan Harold Brunvand, professor of English at the University of Utah, introduced the term to the general public in a series of popular books published beginning in 1981. Brunvand used his collection of legends, The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends & Their Meanings (1981) to make two points: first, that legends and folklore do not occur exclusively in so-called primitive or traditional societies, and second, that one could learn much about urban and modern culture by studying such tales.

See also[edit]

  • The Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend
  • Legendary saga
  • Legendary creature
  • Lists of legendary creatures

References[edit]

  1. ^ Georges, Robert; Owens, Michael (1995). Folkloristics. United States of America: Indiana University Press. p. 7. ISBN 0-253-32934-5.
  2. ^ Baldick, Chris (2015). Legend. The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (4 ed.). Oxford University Press — Oxford Reference Online. ISBN 978-0-19-871544-3. A story or group of stories handed down through popular oral tradition, usually consisting of an exaggerated or unreliable account of some actually or possibly historical person—often a saint, monarch, or popular hero. Legends are sometimes distinguished from myths in that they concern human beings rather than gods, and sometimes in that they have some sort of historical basis whereas myths do not; but these distinctions are difficult to maintain consistently. The term was originally applied to accounts of saints’ lives..
  3. ^ Bascom, William Russell (1965). The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives. University of California. pp. 4–5, 9. Myths are often associated with theology and ritual. Their main characters are not usually human beings, but they often have human attributes; they are animals, deities, or culture heroes, whose actions are set in an earlier world, when the earth was different from what it is today, or in another world such as the sky or underworld….Legends are more often secular than sacred, and their principal characters are human. They tell of migrations, wars and victories, deeds of past heroes, chiefs, and kings, and succession in ruling dynasties.
  4. ^ Norbert Krapf, Beneath the Cherry Sapling: Legends from Franconia (New York: Fordham University Press) 1988, devotes his opening section to distinguishing the genre of legend from other narrative forms, such as fairy tale; he «reiterates the Grimms’ definition of legend as a folktale historically grounded», according to Hans Sebald’s review in German Studies Review 13.2 (May 1990), p 312.
  5. ^ Tangherlini, «‘It Happened Not Too Far from Here…’: A Survey of Legend Theory and Characterization» Western Folklore 49.4 (October 1990:371–390) p. 385.
  6. ^ That is to say, specifically located in place and time.
  7. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. «legend»
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. «legendary». Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  9. ^ «legendry». Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
  10. ^ Patrick Collinson. Elizabethans, «Truth and Legend: The Veracity of John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs» 2003:151–77, balances the authentic records and rhetorical presentation of Foxe’s Acts and Monuments, itself a mighty force of Protestant legend-making. Sherry L. Reames, The Legenda Aurea: a reexamination of its paradoxical history, 1985, examines the «Renaissance verdict» on the Legenda, and its wider influence in skeptical approaches to Catholic hagiography in general.
  11. ^ Das Märchen ist poetischer, die Sage, historischer, quoted at the commencement of Tangherlini’s survey of legend scholarship (Tangherlini 1990:371)
  12. ^ Wehrhan Die Sage (Leipzig) 1908.
  13. ^ Ranke, «Grundfragen der Volkssagen Forshung», in Leander Petzoldt (ed.), Vergleichende Sagenforschung 1971:1–20, noted by Tangherlini 1990.
  14. ^ Peuckert , Sagen (Munich: E Schmidt) 1965.
  15. ^ This was stimulated in part, Tangherlini suggests, by the 1962 congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research.
  16. ^ Ranke, «Grundfragen der Volkssagenforschung», Niederdeutsche Zeitschrift für Volkskunde 3 (1925, reprinted 1969)
  17. ^ Charles L. Perdue Jt., reviewing Linda Dégh and Andrew Vászony’s essay «The crack on the red goblet or truth and the modern legend» in Richard M. Dorson, ed. Folklore in the Modern World, (The Hague: Mouton 1978), in The Journal of American Folklore 93 No. 369 (July–September 1980:367), remarked on Ranke’s definition, criticized in the essay, as a «dead issue». A more recent examination of the balance between oral performance and literal truth at work in legends forms Gillian Bennett’s chapter «Legend: Performance and Truth» in Gillian Bennett and Paul Smith, eds. Contemporary Legend (Garland) 1996:17–40.
  18. ^ de Boor, «Märchenforschung», Zeitschrift für Deutschkunde 42 1928:563–81.
  19. ^ Lutz Röhrich, Märchen und Wirklichkeit: Eine volkskundliche Untersuchung (Wiesbaden: Steiner Verlag) 1956:9–26.
  20. ^ Heiske, «Das Märchen ist poetischer, die Sage, historischer: Versuch einer Kritik», Deutschunterricht14 1962:69–75..
  21. ^ Bernheim, Einleitung in der Geschichtswissenschaft(Berlin: de Gruyter) 1928.
  22. ^ Allport, The Psychology of Rumor (New York: Holt, Rinehart) 1947:164.
  23. ^ Bengt af Klintberg, «Folksägner i dag» Fataburen 1976:269–96.
  24. ^ William Hugh Jansen, «Legend: oral tradition in the modern experience», Folklore Today, A Festschrift for Richard M. Dorson (Bloomington: Indiana University Press) 1972:265–72, noted in Tangherlini 1990:375.
  25. ^ Literary or Profane Legends. Catholic Encyclopedia.
  26. ^ Hippolyte Delehaye, The Legends of the Saints: An Introduction to Hagiography (1907), Chapter I: Preliminary Definitions
  27. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica (2006). «Fable». Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopedia Britannica. p. 652. ISBN 9781593392932.
  28. ^ Timothy R. Tangherlini, «‘It Happened Not Too Far from Here…’: A Survey of Legend Theory and Characterization» Western Folklore 49.4 (October 1990:371–390). A condensed survey with extensive bibliography.
  29. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2d ed. 1989, entry for «urban legend,» citing R. M. Dorson in T. P. Coffin, Our Living Traditions, xiv. 166 (1968). See also William B. Edgerton, The Ghost in Search of Help for a Dying Man, Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 5, No. 1. pp. 31, 38, 41 (1968).
Источник

leg·end

 (lĕj′ənd)

n.

1.

a. An unverified story handed down from earlier times, especially one popularly believed to be historical.

b. A body or collection of such stories.

2. One that inspires legends or achieves legendary fame: She is a legend in her own time.

3.

a. An inscription or title on an object, such as a coin.

b. An explanatory caption accompanying an illustration.

c. An explanatory table or list of the symbols appearing on a map or chart.

[Middle English, from Old French legende, from Medieval Latin (lēctiō) legenda, (lesson) to be read, from Latin, feminine gerundive of legere, to read; see leg- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

legend

(ˈlɛdʒənd)

n

1. a popular story handed down from earlier times whose truth has not been ascertained

2. a group of such stories: the Arthurian legend.

3. a modern story that has taken on the characteristics of a traditional legendary tale

4. a person whose fame or notoriety makes him or her a source of exaggerated or romanticized tales or exploits

5. an inscription or title, as on a coin or beneath a coat of arms

6. explanatory matter accompanying a table, map, chart, etc

7. (Ecclesiastical Terms)

a. a story of the life of a saint

b. a collection of such stories

[C14 (in the sense: a saint’s life or a collection of saints’ lives): from Medieval Latin legenda passages to be read, from Latin legere to read]

ˈlegendry n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

leg•end

(ˈlɛdʒ ənd)

n.

1. a nonhistorical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical.

2. the body of stories of this kind, esp. as they relate to a particular people, group, or clan.

3. an inscription, esp. on a coat of arms, a monument, a picture, or the like.

4. a table on a map, chart, or the like, listing and explaining the symbols used.

5. the lettering running around the field of a coin, medal, etc.

6. a collection of stories about an admirable person.

7. a person who is the center of such stories: to become a legend in one’s own lifetime.

8. Archaic. a story of the life of a saint.

9. Obs. a collection of such stories or stories like them.

[1300–50; Middle English legende account of a saint’s life < Medieval Latin legenda literally, (lesson) to be read; so called because appointed to be read on respective saints’ days]

syn: legend, myth, fable refer to stories handed down from earlier times, often by word of mouth. A legend is a story associated with a people or a nation; it is usu. concerned with a real person, place, or event and is popularly believed to have some basis in fact: the legend of King Arthur. A myth is one of a class of purportedly historical stories that attempt to explain some belief, practice, or natural phenomenon; the characters are usu. gods or heroes: the Greek myth about Demeter. A fable is a fictitious story intended to teach a moral lesson; the characters are usu. animals: the fable about the fox and the grapes.

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

legend

An explanation of symbols used on a map, chart, sketch, etc., commonly printed in tabular form at the side of the map, etc.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

legend

An unverifiable story handed down from earlier times, or a modern story that presents similar characteristics; used in medieval times when telling the life story of a saint.

Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun 1. legend - a story about mythical or supernatural beings or eventslegend — a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events

story — a piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events; «he writes stories for the magazines»

Arthurian legend — the legend of King Arthur and his court at Camelot

hagiology — literature narrating the lives (and legends) of the saints

Midas — (Greek legend) the greedy king of Phrygia who Dionysus gave the power to turn everything he touched into gold

Sisyphus — (Greek legend) a king in ancient Greece who offended Zeus and whose punishment was to roll a huge boulder to the top of a steep hill; each time the boulder neared the top it rolled back down and Sisyphus was forced to start again

Tristan, Tristram — (Middle Ages) the nephew of the king of Cornwall who (according to legend) fell in love with his uncle’s bride (Iseult) after they mistakenly drank a love potion that left them eternally in love with each other

Iseult, Isolde — (Middle Ages) the bride of the king of Cornwall who (according to legend) fell in love with the king’s nephew (Tristan) after they mistakenly drank a love potion that left them eternally in love with each other
2. legend — brief description accompanying an illustration

title — a general or descriptive heading for a section of a written work; «the novel had chapter titles»

illustration — artwork that helps make something clear or attractive

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

legend

noun

1. myth, story, tale, fiction, narrative, saga, fable, folk tale, urban myth, urban legend, folk story the legends of ancient Greece

2. celebrity, star, phenomenon, genius, spectacle, wonder, big name, marvel, prodigy, luminary, celeb (informal), megastar (informal) the blues legend, B.B. King

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

legend

noun

1. A traditional story or tale that has no proven factual basis:

2. A body of traditional beliefs and notions accumulated about a particular subject:

The American Heritage® Roget’s Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

legendapověst

legendesagn

legenda

legendapredaja

legenda

òjóîsaga

伝説凡例

전설

legendinisplačiai žinomas

leģenda

legenda

text

ตำนาน

truyền thuyết

Collins Spanish Dictionary — Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

legend

[ˈlɛdʒənd] n

(= famous person) → légende f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

legend

n

(= inscription, caption) → Legende f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

legend

(ˈledʒənd) noun

a myth or traditional story, handed down from one generation to another. the legend of St George.

ˈlegendary adjective

1. mentioned etc in legend. legendary heroes.

2. very famous because very great, good etc. His generosity is legendary.

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

legend

→ أُسْطُورَةٌ legenda legende Legende μύθος leyenda legenda légende legenda leggenda 伝説 전설 legende legende legenda lenda легенда text ตำนาน efsane truyền thuyết 传说

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

Источник

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[ lej—uhnd ]

/ ˈlɛdʒ ənd /

This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.

noun

a nonhistorical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical.

the body of stories of this kind, especially as they relate to a particular people, group, or clan: the winning of the West in American legend.

an inscription, especially on a coat of arms, on a monument, under a picture, or the like.

a table on a map, chart, or the like, listing and explaining the symbols used.Compare key1 (def. 8).

a collection of stories about an admirable person.

a person who is the center of such stories: She became a legend in her own lifetime.

Archaic. a story of the life of a saint, especially one stressing the miraculous or unrecorded deeds of the saint.

Obsolete. a collection of such stories or stories like them.

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Origin of legend

First recorded in 1300–50; 1900–05 for def. 4; Middle English legende “written account of a saint’s life,” from Medieval Latin legenda literally, “(lesson) to be read,” noun use of feminine of Latin legendus, gerund of legere “to read”; so called because appointed to be read on respective saints’ days

synonym study for legend

1. Legend, fable, myth refer to fictitious stories, usually handed down by tradition (although some fables are modern). Legend, originally denoting a story concerning the life of a saint, is applied to any fictitious story, sometimes involving the supernatural, and usually concerned with a real person, place, or other subject: the legend of the Holy Grail. A fable is specifically a fictitious story (often with animals or inanimate things as speakers or actors) designed to teach a moral: a fable about industrious bees. A myth is one of a class of stories, usually concerning gods, semidivine heroes, etc., current since primitive times, the purpose of which is to attempt to explain some belief or natural phenomenon: the Greek myth about Demeter.

OTHER WORDS FROM legend

pre·leg·end, noun, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH legend

fable, legend , myth (see synonym study at the current entry)

Words nearby legend

leg before wicket, leg-break, leg bye, Legco, leg drop, legend, legendary, legendist, legendize, Legendre, Legendre equation

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to legend

fable, fiction, folklore, lore, myth, mythology, tale, tradition, narrative, saga, cipher, code, device, epigraph, epitaph, head, inscription, key, motto, rubric

How to use legend in a sentence

  • Last April at T-Mobile, Mike Sievert took over for a legend, John Legere, who started out in last place and ended up gaining the most customers and having the best performing stock in telecom over his eight year run.

  • Only a few managed to escape, according to legend, one of them being John Gómez, who was supposedly the first narrator of the Gasparilla legend.

  • The legend of Achilles retold through the lens of his friend Patroclus.

  • Even in a hellish year-plus that has cost us so many legends, the one we lost Friday was truly one of a kind.

  • As a competitor and future first-ballot Hall of Famer, he surely cares about the personal opportunity to enhance his legend.

  • The attempt to “breed back” the Auroch of Teutonic legend was of a piece with the Nazi obsession with racial purity and eugenics.

  • Acting legend talks about what role is closest to her heart.

  • Some lesser-known live performances from the late rock legend.

  • Founded by German monks in present-day Old Town Stockholm, Zum Franziskaner has become a legend amongst locals and tourists.

  • So, for that matter, was Gladiator, the previous foray into ancient legend by director Ridley Scott.

  • Her stern was towards him, and all he saw of her was the ironical legend, “Cure your Corns.”

  • His name is less romantic than those of the wonted demons of legend and folklore.

  • He perceived that they had lived long enough in retirement in the little Welsh village to have acquired a pride in its legend.

  • But, oddly enough, as he walked back to the hotel it was just Betty Lardner who made him think again of the legend.

  • It was probably this opposition that made young Cargill decide that it would be really worth while to defy the legend.

British Dictionary definitions for legend

noun

a popular story handed down from earlier times whose truth has not been ascertained

a group of such storiesthe Arthurian legend

a modern story that has taken on the characteristics of a traditional legendary tale

a person whose fame or notoriety makes him a source of exaggerated or romanticized tales or exploits

an inscription or title, as on a coin or beneath a coat of arms

explanatory matter accompanying a table, map, chart, etc

  1. a story of the life of a saint
  2. a collection of such stories

Derived forms of legend

legendry, noun

Word Origin for legend

C14 (in the sense: a saint’s life or a collection of saints’ lives): from Medieval Latin legenda passages to be read, from Latin legere to read

Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Источник

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English legende, from Old French legende, from Medieval Latin legenda (“a legend, story, especially the lives of the saints”), from Latin legenda (“things which ought to be read”), from lego (“I read”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈlɛd͡ʒ.ənd/
  • (obsolete) IPA(key): /ˈliːdʒ.ənd/[1]

Noun[edit]

legend (countable and uncountable, plural legends)

  1. An unrealistic story depicting past events.
    1. A story of unknown origin describing plausible but extraordinary past events.
      Synonym: myth

      The legend of Troy was discovered to have a historical basis.

    2. A plausible story set in the historical past, but whose historicity is uncertain.

      the legend of Robin Hood

    3. A story in which a kernel of truth is embellished to an unlikely degree.
      Synonyms: myth, tall tale

      The 1984 Rose Bowl prank has spawned many legends. Here’s the real story.

    4. A fabricated backstory for a spy, with associated documents and records.
      Synonym: cover story

      According to his legend, he once worked for the Red Cross, spreading humanitarian aid in Africa.

      • 1992, Ronald Kessler, Inside the CIA, Pocket Books, published 1994, →ISBN, page 115:

        If the documents are needed to establish «a light legend,» meaning a superficial cover story, no steps are taken to make sure that if someone calls the college or motor vehicle department, the name on the document will be registered.

      • 2005, Curtis Peebles, Twilight Warriors, Naval Institute Press, →ISBN, page 25:

        Both the agent’s legend and documents were intended to stand up against casual questions from Soviet citizens, such as during a job interview, or a routine police document check, such as were made at railway stations.

  2. A person related to a legend or legends.
    1. A leading protagonist in a historical legend.
      Synonym: hero

      Achilles is a legend in Greek culture.

    2. A person with legend-like qualities, such as extraordinary accomplishment.

      Michael Jordan stands as a legend in basketball.

      1. (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, colloquial, slang) A cool, nice or helpful person, especially one who is male.
        Synonym: brick

        I’ve lost my pen! —Here mate, borrow mine. —You legend.

  3. A key to the symbols and color codes on a map, chart, etc.
    Synonyms: guide, key

    According to the legend on the map, that building is a school.

  4. (numismatics, heraldry) An inscription, motto, or title, especially one surrounding the field in a medal or coin, or placed upon a heraldic shield or beneath an engraving or illustration.
    Synonym: inscription
  5. A musical composition set to a poetical story.
  6. (naval) The design and specification of a vessel.
    • 1929, Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers, Inc (page 304)
      The legend displacement on the basis then in use was 48,000 tons, the corresponding standard displacement as defined by the Washington Treaty being 47,540 tons.
    • 1976, Alan Raven, John Roberts, British Battleships of World War Two: The Development and Technical History of the Royal Navy’s Battleships and Battlecruisers from 1911 to 1946 (page 63)
      The legend and sketch designs were submitted to the Board on 27th March 1916 and, after examining a model and the drawings, the Sea Lords generally favoured proposal ‘B’; the extra weight involved being acceptable.

Derived terms[edit]

  • legend in one’s own lunchtime
  • legend in one’s own mind
  • legend in one’s own lifetime
  • living legend
  • urban legend

[edit]

  • lege
  • legendary

Translations[edit]

key to the symbols and color codes on a map

  • Arabic: مِفْتَاح خَرِيطَة‎ m (miftāḥ ḵarīṭa)
  • Bulgarian: леге́нда (bg) f (legénda)
  • Catalan: llegenda (ca) f
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin: 圖例／图例 (zh) (túlì)
  • Dutch: kaartlegenda
  • Esperanto: mapklarigo
  • Finnish: selitykset pl, selite (fi)
  • French: légende (fr) f
  • Galician: lenda f
  • German: Kartenlegende f, Legende (de) f
  • Greek: επεξήγηση (el) f (epexígisi), λεζάντα (el) f (lezánta), υπόμνημα (el) n (ypómnima)
  • Hebrew: מִקְרָא‎ (he) m (mikrá)
  • Hungarian: jelmagyarázat (hu), jelkulcs
  • Italian: legenda (it) f
  • Japanese: 凡例 (ja) (はんれい, hanrei)
  • Korean: 범례(凡例) (ko) (beomnye)
  • Norwegian:
    Bokmål: symboler pl, tegnforklaring m
  • Polish: legenda (pl) f
  • Portuguese: legenda (pt)
  • Romanian: legendă (ro) f
  • Russian: леге́нда (ru) f (legénda) условные обозначения
  • Slovene: legenda (sl) f
  • Spanish: leyenda (es) f, simbología (es) f
  • Swedish: teckenförklaringar pl
  • Thai: สัญลักษณ์ (th) (sǎn-yá-lák)
  • Turkish: lejant (tr)
  • Vietnamese: chú giải (vi)

Verb[edit]

legend (third-person singular simple present legends, present participle legending, simple past and past participle legended)

  1. (archaic, transitive) To tell or narrate; to recount.
    • c. 1600, Joseph Hall, Satires
      Nor ladie’s wanton love , nor wand’ring knight,
      Legend I out in rymes all richly dight

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jespersen, Otto (1909) A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Sammlung germanischer Elementar- und Handbücher; 9)‎[1], volume I: Sounds and Spellings, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1961, § 4.82, page 143.

Further reading[edit]

  • legend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • “legend”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Participle[edit]

legend

  1. present participle of legen

Declension[edit]

Inflection of legend
uninflected legend
inflected legende
positive
predicative/adverbial legend
legende
indefinite m./f. sing. legende
n. sing. legend
plural legende
definite legende
partitive legends

Anagrams[edit]

  • gelden, gleden, legden

German[edit]

Participle[edit]

legend

  1. present participle of legen

Polish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈlɛ.ɡɛnt/
  • Rhymes: -ɛɡɛnt
  • Syllabification: le‧gend

Noun[edit]

legend

  1. genitive plural of legenda

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Medieval Latin legenda.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /le.ɡend/, [lə.ˈɡɛnd]

Noun[edit]

legend c

  1. legend

Declension[edit]

Declension of legend 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative legend legenden legender legenderna
Genitive legends legendens legenders legendernas

Derived terms[edit]

  • legendarisk
  • legendomspunnen

References[edit]

  • legend in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams[edit]

  • degeln
Источник

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