entry
legend
/ˈlɛdʒənd/Traditional story, symbolic key, or celebrated person
From Latin, ultimately Proto-Indo-European legere / leg- (to gather).
from Old French legende (12c., Modern French légende ) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Latin legendus , neuter plural gerundive of legere "to read; to gather, pluck, select,"
from Medieval Latin legenda "legend, story," especially lives of saints, which were formerly read at matins and in...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French legende (12c., Modern French légende ) and directly
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Old French legende (12c., Modern French légende ) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Latin legendus , neuter plural gerundive of legere "to read; to gather, pluck, select,"
from Medieval Latin legenda "legend, story," especially lives of saints, which were formerly read at matins and in...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French legende (12c., Modern French légende ) and directly
+1 more sourcePicture a medieval monk listening while a reader recites a saint’s life over breakfast in the refectory. The Latin label for these assigned readings was legenda—literally, “things to be read,” from legere, “to read,” a verb that also meant “to gather” or “pick out.” That same root helps explain why a lecture gathers ideas and why something legible can be picked out by the eye. By the late fourteenth century, English legend had begun slipping beyond saints and miracles into tales that might be wonderfully memorable but not especially historical. The English word leg, from Old Norse, merely looks like a cousin; its documented ancestry is separate, so a legend is not a story with “legs.” Still, in 1958 people began calling someone “a legend” in their own lifetime—a medieval reading-list label transformed into the highest modern compliment.
The Story
Picture a medieval monk listening while a reader recites a saint’s life over breakfast in the refectory. The Latin label for these assigned readings was legenda—literally, “things to be read,” from legere, “to read,” a verb that also meant “to gather” or “pick out.” That same root helps explain why a lecture gathers ideas and why something legible can be picked out by the eye. By the late fourteenth century, English legend had begun slipping beyond saints and miracles into tales that might be wonderfully memorable but not especially historical. The English word leg, from Old Norse, merely looks like a cousin; its documented ancestry is separate, so a legend is not a story with “legs.” Still, in 1958 people began calling someone “a legend” in their own lifetime—a medieval reading-list label transformed into the highest modern compliment.
Modern Usage
A highly admirable, memorable, or socially impressive person
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries use “legend” as praise for someone exceptionally admirable or impressive
Kin & Kindred
From 'legere / leg-'·to gather, select, read
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary