English
legion
Legion comes from Latin legiō ‘a legion’, from legō ‘to gather, collect’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-‘to gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō‘to gather, collect’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElegiō‘a legion’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400legion
- Englishearliest quotation 1735legion
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-‘to gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō‘to gather, collect’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElegiō‘a legion’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400legion
- Englishearliest quotation 1735legion
Earliest quotation: 1735, John Rogers: “where one Sin has entered, Legions will force their…”
The story
Attested (in Middle English, as legioun) around 1200, from Old French legion, from Latin legiō, legionem, from legō (‘to gather, collect’); akin to legend, lecture. Generalized sense of “a large number” is due to an allusive phrase in Mark 5:9, "My name is Legion, for we are many".
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather’
technology, collect, logic, apology, catalogue, trilogy, analogy, terminology, sociology, pathology, logos, physiology, astrology, prologue, epilogue, monologue, eulogy, pathologist, leach, cosmology, archaeologist, etymology, logistic, epistemology, entomology, homologous, lexical, lexicon, gynecologist, dialectical, dialectic, lignite, lignin, etiology, alexia, bacteriology, lexis, apologia, syllogism, bacteriologist, 154 more
through Proto-Italic *legō
intelligence, intelligent, intellectual, selection, ineligible, elector, 20 more
through Latin legō ‘to gather, collect’
college, election, collection, elite, select, collective, lesson, legend, lecture, eligible, legacy, colleague, elect, coil, collector, elegant, negligence, delegate, delegation, diligent, negligent, cull, collegiate, negligible, lectern, legible, relegate, legate, ineligibility, lector, legation, collegium, 24 more
Today it means
adj Numerous; vast; very great in number.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / legion