legend

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leg·end

(lĕj′ənd)

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

b. A body or collection of such stories.

c. See urban legend.

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

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)

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.

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.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	legend - a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events fable Holy Grail, Sangraal, grail - (legend) chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper King Arthur's Round Table, Round Table - (legend) the circular table for King Arthur and his knights 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 caption 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

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

3. inscription, title, caption, device, device, motto, rubric a banner bearing the following legend

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:

fable, myth.

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

folklore, lore, myth, mythology, mythos, tradition.

Translations

أُسْطُورَةٌاُسْطورَه

legendapověst

legendesagn

Legende Sage

θρύλος λεζάντα μύθος επεξήγηση

leyenda

legenda

légende

legendapredaja

legenda

òjóîsaga

leggenda mito mitologia spiegazione didascalia

伝説凡例

전설

legendinisplačiai žinomas

leģenda

legende

legende sagn folkesagn

legenda

lenda

легенда миф

legenda

text

ตำนาน

efsane destan

truyền thuyết

传说传奇

legend

[ˈledʒənd] N → leyenda f
she was a legend in her own lifetime → fue una leyenda en su vida, fue un mito viviente

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

[ˈlɛdʒ^ənd] n

(= story) → légende f

(= famous person) → légende f

legend

→ Legende f; (fictitious) → Sage f; heroes of Greek legend → griechische Sagenhelden pl; to become a legend in one’s lifetime → schon zu Lebzeiten zur Legende werden

(= 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

legend

[ˈlɛdʒ/ənd] n → leggenda

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.

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

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When he found himself about to die, which happened in 1643, just after the death of Louis XIII., he called to him his son, a young cook of great promise, and with tears in his eyes, he recommended him to preserve carefully the secret of the macaroni, to Frenchify his name, and at length, when the political horizon should be cleared from the clouds which obscured it -- this was practiced then as in our day, to order of the nearest smith a handsome sign, upon which a famous painter, whom he named, should design two queens' portraits, with these words as a legend: "To The Medici."

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'worm' was a monster of vast size and power--a veritable dragon or serpent, such as legend attributes to vast fens or quags where there was illimitable room for expansion.

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But the great legend of the Mediterranean, the legend of traditional song and grave history, lives, fascinating and immortal, in our minds.

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It seizes with avidity upon any incidents, surprising or mysterious, in the career of those who have at all distinguished themselves from their fellows, and invents a legend to which it then attaches a fanatical belief.

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"Maybe, we'll get on the track of lost Kurzon after all, through some ancient Indian legend. Maybe we won't need the map!"

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"Well," he said; "there is a legend connected with that iron hook.

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'For many hundred years before that time, there had been handed down, from age to age, an old legend, that the illustrious prince being afflicted with leprosy, on his return from reaping a rich harvest of knowledge in Athens, shunned the court of his royal father, and consorted moodily with husbandman and pigs.

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ACCORDING to an ancient legend, the first man was made by Jupiter, the first bull by Neptune, and the first house by Minerva.

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"I have heard of this picture; but the subject represented is taken from a legend, and you know what to think of legends in the matter of natural history.

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Although I attach no sort of credit to the fantastic Indian legend of the gem, I must acknowledge, before I conclude, that I am influenced by a certain superstition of my own in this matter.

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The story of the scarlet letter grew into a legend. Its spell, however, was still potent, and kept the scaffold awful where the poor minister had died, and likewise the cottage by the sea-shore where Hester Prynne had dwelt.

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But, by the by, have you added any more legends to the series, since the publication of the 'Wonder-Book'?"