Nearby Words
nd
noun
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, especially as they relate to a particular people, group, or clan: the winning of the West in American legend.
3.
an inscription, especially on a coat of arms, on a monument, under a picture, or the like.
4.
a table on a map, chart, or the like, listing and explaining the symbols used. Compare key1 (def. 8).
5.
EXPANDNumismatics. inscription (def. 8).
6.
a collection of stories about an admirable person.
7.
a person who is the center of such stories: She became a legend in her own lifetime.
8.
Archaic. a story of the life of a saint, especially one stressing the miraculous or unrecorded deeds of the saint.
9.
COLLAPSEObsolete. a collection of such stories or stories like them.
Origin:
1300–50; 1900–05 for def. 4; Middle English legende written account of a saint's life < 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
1300–50; 1900–05 for def. 4; Middle English legende written account of a saint's life < 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
Related forms
pre·leg·end, noun, adjective
Synonyms
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.
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.
Antonyms
1. fact.
1. fact.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Legend
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
legend
mid-14c., from O.Fr. legende (12c.), from M.L. legenda "legend, story," lit. "(things) to be read," on certain days in church, etc., from neuter plural gerundive of L. legere "to read, gather, select" (see lecture). Used originally of saints' lives; extended sense of "nonhistorical
EXPANDor mythical story" first recorded 1610s. Meaning "writing or inscription" (especially on a coin or medal) is from 1610s; on a map, illustration, etc., from 1903.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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