legend

American  

[lej-uhnd] / ˈlɛdʒ ənd /

noun

• legends
  plural

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.

---

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

---

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

Derived Forms

• legendry
  noun
• prelegend
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• legends
  plural

---

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

See Examples For:

legend legends

Rugby league legend Sir Kevin Sinfield's fundraising in support of his friend Rob Burrow helped bring in £6.8m for a specialist motor neurone disease centre at Leeds Teaching Hospitals.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday received Bob Dylan in the Vatican at an audience for which the US folk music legend wore a black hooded sweater.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

Quite a few cashed in, including Fidelity value maven Joel Tillinghast, “Big Short” legend Michael Burry and some lesser-known investors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Crow also discussed the legacy of country music legend Dolly Parton - whose family tree has been traced to Machynlleth in Powys.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

There were several things he could tell her, about Lisbon, about the women who sold the fish, and about the legend of Machico.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

In a statement announcing the move, external, the club said Nadal was "one of the greatest legends in the history of sport and one of the most admired and recognised Spanish athletes in the world".

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

He was called a "disgrace" and "embarrassing" by United legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane after the 7-0 loss to Liverpool in 2023, while Chris Sutton said he should never captain the club again.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

From admiring Lakers legends, Kessler can now be mentioned in the same breath.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

You just released a Spanish-language version of that song with Texan legends Intocable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

The more Piper learned about being a demigod, the more convinced she was that Cherokee legends and Greek myths weren’t so different.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

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

---