Etymograph

English

legend

Legend comes from Middle English legende, from Old French legende, from Medieval Latin legenda, from Latin legendus ‘to be read’, from legō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō‘to read’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElegendus‘to be read’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500legenda‘legend; saint’s life’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400legende
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500legende‘a hagiography’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1597legend

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō‘to read’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElegendus‘to be read’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500legenda‘legend; saint’s life’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400legende
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500legende‘a hagiography’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1597legend

Earliest quotation: 1597, Joseph Hall, (please specify the page): “Nor ladie's wanton love , nor wand'ring knight, Legend…”

Linked words

through Medieval Latin lego ‘to read’

election, collection, college, elite, lesson, select, collective, eligible, lecture, legacy, colleague, elect, coil, collector, delegation, elegant, legion, delegate, negligence, collegiate, negligible, cull, diligent, negligent, legible, lectern, legation, ineligibility, relegate, legate, collegium, lector, 24 more

Today it means

noun The life story of a saint (such stories are often embellished, but any kind is called a legend).

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin legō / legend

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