legend

noun

leg·​end ˈle-jənd How to pronounce legend (audio)
1
a
: a story coming down from the past
especially : one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable
the legend of a lost continent
Arthurian legends
b
: a body of such stories
a place in the legend of the frontier
c
: a popular myth of recent origin
the legend of the Loch Ness monster
d
: a person or thing that inspires legends
a baseball legend
e
: the subject of a legend
its violence was legend even in its own timeWilliam Broyles Jr.
2
a
: an inscription or title on an object (such as a coin)
The quarter bore the legend "In God We Trust."
b
: caption sense 2b
The legend identifies the various parts of the illustrated anatomy.
c
: an explanatory list of the symbols on a map or chart

Examples of legend in a Sentence

I don't believe the legends I've heard about this forest. the legend of a lost continent He has become a baseball legend. The gravestone bears the legend “Rest in Peace.”
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Those 1985 multi-artist shows in London and Philadelphia — which raised the equivalent of $450 million in today’s currency for African famine relief and boasted lineups full of legends and icons of the MTV era (U2, Madonna, Duran Duran) — aimed big and worked better than anyone could have expected. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 22 July 2025 Ozzy Osbourne, the former Black Sabbath frontman and heavy metal legend also known as the Prince of Darkness, has died at 76. Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 22 July 2025 The former defender spent two seasons in Serie A, from 1994 to 1996, just as Serie A legend Marco Materazzi’s career was taking off at Perugia. David Ferrini, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025 Indiana State Fair Hoosier Lottery Free Stage Aug. 1-17 From Empress of Soul Gladys Knight to rock legend Lita Fod to gospel great Yolanda Adams, the stage will deliver plenty of music. Katie Wiseman, IndyStar, 21 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for legend

Word History

Etymology

Middle English legende, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French legende, from Medieval Latin legenda, from Latin, feminine of legendus, gerundive of legere to gather, select, read; akin to Greek legein to gather, say, logos speech, word, reason

First Known Use

circa 1500, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Time Traveler
The first known use of legend was circa 1500

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Cite this Entry

“Legend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

legend

noun
leg·​end ˈlej-ənd How to pronounce legend (audio)
1
: a story coming down from the past whose truth is popularly accepted but cannot be checked
2
a
: writing or a title on an object
c
: an explanatory list of the symbols on a map or chart
Etymology

Middle English legende "a legend," derived from Latin legenda "something to be read," derived from earlier legere "to gather, read"

Word Origin
The Latin verb legere originally meant "to gather." In time the verb came to mean "to gather with the eye, to see," and that led to the sense "to read." From this verb came the Latin noun legenda, used in the Middle Ages to mean "a thing to be read." Legenda was used to refer in particular to stories about the lives of saints. Many such stories were written in the Middle Ages, and they often included fiction along with fact. Because of that, when legenda was borrowed into English as legend, it came to mean "a story coming down from the past which may or may not be entirely true."

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