legend
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).
Numismatics. inscription (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.
Origin of legend
1synonym study For legend
Opposites for legend
Other words from legend
- pre·leg·end, noun, adjective
Words that may be confused with legend
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use legend in a sentence
A new book from Mallory Ortberg imagines what literary legends including King Lear and Jane Eyre would have texted.
Giants are the cornerstone of the myths, legends, and traditions of almost every culture on Earth.
Though vampire legends exist the world over, Romania and Bulgaria have born the brunt of the attention.
In the most crowd-pleasing section of the exhibition—dubbed Stage and Screen—hang his pictures of celluloid legends.
How Horst Captured Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, and Vivien Leigh—and Changed Fashion Photography | Patrick Strudwick | September 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLike many founding legends, the Scottish version is larded with myth.
I believe that these are ideal characters constructed from still more ancient legends and traditions.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordShe has embodied in her work a modern comprehension of old legends.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. | Clara Erskine ClementBecause it appears that in that ancient Accadian civilisation lie the seeds of many Bible laws and legends.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordAll her years she had squatted and waddled there upon the island, gathering legends of the Baratarians and the sea.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinAs Dorothy hastened on, some of the wild legends she had heard from childhood glanced through her mind.
The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie
British Dictionary definitions for legend
/ (ˈlɛdʒənd) /
a popular story handed down from earlier times whose truth has not been ascertained
a group of such stories: the 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
a story of the life of a saint
a collection of such stories
Origin of legend
1Derived forms of legend
- legendry, noun
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
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