legend: Meaning and Definition of
leg•end
Pronunciation: (lej'und), [key]
— n.
- a nonhistorical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical.
- the body of stories of this kind, esp. as they relate to a particular people, group, or clan: the winning of the West in American legend.
- an inscription, esp. on a coat of arms, on a monument, under a picture, or the like.
- a table on a map, chart, or the like, listing and explaining the symbols used. Cf. key (def. 8).
- inscription (def. 8).
- a collection of stories about an admirable person.
- a person who is the center of such stories: She became a legend in her own lifetime.
- a story of the life of a saint, esp. one stressing the miraculous or unrecorded deeds of the saint.
- a collection of such stories or stories like them.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.