legend

American  

[lej-uhnd] / ˈlɛdʒ ənd /

noun

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

   Antonyms:

   fact

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.

5. Numismatics. inscription.

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

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legend British  

/ ˈlɛdʒənd /

noun

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 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. 1. a story of the life of a saint

   2. a collection of such stories

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Synonym Usage

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 Word Forms

• legendry
  noun
• prelegend
  noun

Etymology

Origin of legend

First recorded in 1300–50; 1900–05 legend 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

Explanation

A legend is a larger-than-life story that gets passed down from one generation to the next — like the legends of Beowulf, Robin Hood, or even Big Foot. Legend comes from the Latin legere, "to read." The Latin word was originally limited to written stories, but in English, legend lost that limitation. Often a legend lives on in the stories that people tell each other. A person can be a legend, too. Anne Frank is a legend for keeping a diary of hidden life in war time, and a less famous person, like a long-serving local teacher, can be a legend to neighborhood kids.

Example Sentences

What follows is a soaring, visionary narrative that connects the known world to the misty realms of Celtic legend.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

But he remained the top name on Italy's most-wanted list and increasingly became a figure of legend.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

She leaves Barcelona as a legend of the club and it marks the end of a significant era for Pere Romeu's side.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

It’s Miles Davis’ centennial, and fellow musicians discuss how the shapeshifting innovator transformed music over and over again and became more than a jazz legend.

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

The second is the legend of my sister’s cleverness.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• fable
• fiction
• folklore
• lore
• myth
• mythology
• tale
• tradition