legend | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

39 entries found.

early 14c., "narrative dealing with a happening or an event," from Old French legende (12c., Modern French légende) and directly from Medieval Latin legenda "legend, story," especially lives of saints, which were formerly read at matins and in refectories of religious houses, literally "(things) to be read," on certain days in church, etc., from Latin legendus, neuter plural gerundive of legere "to read; to gather, pluck, select," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak (to 'pick out words')."

Extended sense of "nonhistorical or mythical story," with or without saints, wonders, and miracles is first recorded late 14c. Meaning "writing or inscription" (especially on a coin or medal) is from 1610s; on a map, illustration, etc., from 1903. To be a legend in (one's) own time is from 1958.

legendary (adj.)

mid-16c., from Medieval Latin legendarius "pertaining to legends," from legenda (see legend). Earlier in English it was a noun meaning "a collection of legends" (1510s).

*leg- (1)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak" on the notion of "to gather words, to pick out words."

It forms all or part of: alexia; analects; analogous; analogue; analogy; anthology; apologetic; apologue; apology; catalogue; coil; colleague; collect; college; collegial; Decalogue; delegate; dialect; dialogue; diligence; doxology; dyslexia; eclectic; eclogue; elect; election; epilogue; hapax legomenon; homologous; horology; ideologue; idiolect; intelligence; lectern; lectio difficilior; lection; lector; lecture; leech (n.2) "physician;" legacy; legal; legate; legend; legible; legion; legislator; legitimate; lesson; lexicon; ligneous; ligni-; logarithm; logic; logistic; logo-; logogriph; logopoeia; Logos; -logue; -logy; loyal; monologue; neglect; neologism; philology; privilege; prolegomenon; prologue; relegate; sacrilege; select; syllogism; tautology; trilogy.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek legein "to say, tell, speak, declare; to count," originally, in Homer, "to pick out, select, collect, enumerate;" lexis "speech, diction;" logos "word, speech, thought, account;" Latin legere "to gather, choose, pluck; read," lignum "wood, firewood," literally "that which is gathered," legare "to depute, commission, charge," lex "law" (perhaps "collection of rules"); Albanian mb-ledh "to collect, harvest;" Gothic lisan "to collect, harvest," Lithuanian lesti "to pick, eat picking;" Hittite less-zi "to pick, gather."

storied (adj.1)

late 15c., "ornamented with scenes from history" (of books, walls, etc.), from past participle of verb form of story (n.1). Meaning "celebrated in history or legend" is from 1725.

Godiva

Lady of Coventry (died 1067) and wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. Her legend is first recorded by Roger of Wendover 100 years after her death. The "Peeping Tom" aspect was added by 1659. The name is a typical Anglo-Saxon compound, apparently *God-gifu "good gift."

snuff (v.1)

"to cut or pinch off the burned part of a candle wick," mid-15c., from noun snoffe "burned part of a candle wick" (late 14c.), of unknown origin, perhaps related to snuff (v.2). The meaning "to die" is from 1865; that of "to kill" is from 1932; snuff-film, originally an urban legend, is from 1975.

mythology (n.)

early 15c., "exposition of myths, the investigation and interpretation of myths," from Late Latin mythologia, from Greek mythologia "legendary lore, a telling of mythic legends; a legend, story, tale," from mythos "myth" (a word of unknown origin; see myth) + -logia (see -logy "study"). Meaning "a body or system of myths" is recorded by 1781.

historical (adj.)

early 15c., "of or pertaining to history, conveying information from the past," with -al (1) + Latin historicus "of history, historical," from Greek historikos "historical; of or for inquiry," from historia (see history). For sense differentiation, see historic. Meaning "narrated or mentioned in history" (as opposed to what is fiction or legend) is from 1843. Related: Historically.

Lorelei

1843, from German, name of a rock in the River Rhine near Koblenz, Germany. In legend, a lovely woman sat atop it and sang while combing her long blond hair, distracting sailors so their ships foundered on the rock and they drowned. The second element of the name probably is Rhenish dialect lei "cliff, rock;" the first element is perhaps from Middle High German lüren "to lie in wait"

Brutus

Roman surname of the Junian gens. Its association with betrayal traces to Marcus Junius Brutus (c. 85 B.C.E.-42 B.C.E.), Roman statesman and general and conspirator against Caesar. The Brutus (Englished as Brute) who was the mythological eponymous founder of Britain in medieval legend was said to be a descendant of Aeneas the Trojan.

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