legend

noun

leg·​end ˈle-jənd 

1

a

: a story coming down from the past

especially : one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable

the legend of a lost continent

The history of the Lunar New Year originates with a legend thousands of years old.

—Emily VanSchmus

… the Apache legend that these mountains are the home of the thunder gods.

—Arizona State Parks

According to legend, Hercules founded the city in honor of his wife …

—Ross E. Dunn

b

: a collection 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

was a legend in her own time [=during her own life]

At just 25 years old, Tupac Shakur was well on his way to becoming a hip-hop legend.

—Lynsey Eidell

The roster includes legends such as James Brown, Prince, B.B. King, … Aretha Franklin, Jackie Wilson, and Whitney Houston.

—Paul Grein

e

: the subject of a legend

a story that has become legend

… its violence was legend even in its own time.

—William 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

The legend shows what the colors mean, with green being the best air quality and purple the worst.

—Tatum Hunter

Synonyms of legend

• caption
• key
• table
• scale

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

Now, as the founder of SM Entertainment and widely credited as the architect of K-pop’s global expansion, Lee will be inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame on Saturday alongside basketball legend Yao Ming, Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan, and rock icon Yoshiki, among others. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 2 Nov. 2025

Living up to the legend of the time, Robertson and Scorsese had their raging-bulls moments. —David Browne, Rolling Stone, 2 Nov. 2025

Yamamoto, the first pitcher to win three games in a World Series since Randy Johnson in 2001, is already a legend on both sides of the Pacific. —Chandler Rome, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025

Digital editor Nicole Hoey captures Yankees legend Bernie Williams in a second act every bit as ambitious as his first. —John Vorwald, Robb Report, 2 Nov. 2025

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

Phrases Containing legend

• a legend in one's own time
• living legend
• the stuff of legend
• urban legend

Kids Definition

legend

noun

leg·​end ˈlej-ənd 

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

b

: caption sense 2

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."