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

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 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

Synonyms

• key

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

And a new class of music legends will enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. —Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2025

The fallout between the two legends stems from a broader web of disagreements: 50 Cent feels betrayed by Big Meech’s association with Rick Ross, who has traded public barbs and diss tracks with 50 for years. —Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 28 Apr. 2025

The metal legends only just returned with a brand new full-length studio effort, Invincible Shield, a little over a year ago, and while some may have assumed a long break in between drops was coming, the band had a different plan. —Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025

Until recently, the legend of Brian Steel was a provincial story, known mainly by his Georgia peers. —Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 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."