legend

«legend» in Mova's school dictionary: an old, famous story from the past that may be partly… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a legend, legends)

meaning for a pupil

1) A legend is an old, famous story from the past that may be partly true but cannot be proved, like the stories of King Arthur or Robin Hood. tree →

2) A legend is a very famous person who is admired for what they did («a football legend»). tree →

3) The legend of a map or chart is the key that explains what its symbols and colours mean. tree →

sense in the lessons

In English lessons legends are a story genre, like myths and fables; legends are usually about humans and places, while myths are about gods. In geography and maths the legend (key) of a map or graph tells you how to read it. In everyday speech «You're a legend!» means «you're great». Phrases: «according to legend», «a living legend», «map legend».

examples

• According to legend, Robin Hood lived in Sherwood Forest. tree →
• We read the legend of King Arthur and the sword in the stone. tree →
• Check the legend to see what the blue lines on the map mean. tree →
• That player is a legend at our club. tree →
• The legend of the Loch Ness Monster brings many tourists to Scotland. tree →
• Thanks for helping, you're a legend! tree →
• The legend of the bar chart shows red for boys and blue for girls. tree →
• Every town seems to have a legend about a ghost. tree →

note

Countable: «a legend». Adjective «legendary» (very famous, or from legend). Trap: a legend is not the same as a myth (gods, explaining nature) or a fable (animals, with a moral), though people often mix them. In maths and geography, always read the legend or key before reading values from a chart.

In the corpora

• Ghost stories and playground legends are fun, but they should not turn a real neighbour into a villain.
• Paintings of history often mix fact, legend and the painter's imagination.
• Some people think the golden takin's shining coat inspired the Greek legend of the Golden Fleece.
• The old stories are legends: the rat did not really win a race by riding on the ox's back.
• So the zodiac is a good way to learn real biology: enjoy the legend, then ask what the real animal is like.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «legend» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.