league

Pronunciation

• IPA: /liːɡ/^[1]

league¹ distance

Etymology

The distance is inherited from Middle English lege, also leuge,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old Occitan lega or Old French legue and directly Late Latin leuga, leuca,^[2][5] which Roman writers say is from Gaulish.^[6][2][7] Hoad notes that both the Late Latin type and the Provençal type occur early, and that the second survived; modern French lieue and Spanish legua are from the same Latin word.^[4][6] Merriam-Webster relates it to the source of Old English lēowe “league”.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A measure of distance, about three miles: before 1387, in Trevisa's translation of Higden's Polychronicon,^[2] or 1387 in the OED.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that it was a vague measure, perhaps originally an hour's walk, a conventional rather than a legal measure in England, and found more often in poetry than in practical writing.^[6] The SOED marks it as archaic.^[5] League-long and similar compounds are poetic, from the 19th century.^[9]

Timeline

• before 1387 – a measure of distance (Trevisa).^[2][9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (archaic) A unit of distance, usually about three miles or about five kilometres.
2. A square league, as a unit of area.

league² alliance

Etymology

The alliance is an alteration, influenced by Italian lega, of Middle English ligg, liege,^[10][2][3] borrowed from Middle French ligue (“confederacy, league”),^[6][2] from Old Italian liga, a variant of lega, from legare (“to tie, bind”),^[2][8][5] from Latin ligāre (“to bind”),^[6][10] from Proto-Indo-European *leig- (“to tie, bind”).^[6][10] Latin ligāre is also the source of ligament and ally.^[7][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

A covenant or alliance for mutual protection: 1452,^[9][12] or mid-15th century as ligg;^[6] Barnhart records liege “pact” in 1418 and the spelling league in 1561.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The league was first between nations,^[6] and the general sense “a covenant, compact” is from 1509.^[9] Political associations of individuals are leagues from 1846,^[6][9] and sports associations from 1879.^[6] League of Nations is from 1917.^[6] The verb “to form a league” is from the 1610s,^[6] or 1611.^[9] The figurative sense “class, level”, as in not in the same league, and big league are from the 1930s.^[9]

Timeline

• 1418 – liege, a pact.^[2]
• 1452 – an alliance.^[9]
• 1561 – the spelling league.^[2]
• 1611 – verb.^[9]
• 1846 – a political association.^[6][9]
• 1879 – a sports league.^[6]
• 1917 – League of Nations.^[6]
• 1935 – a class or level.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An association of states, organizations or people for common action; an alliance.
2. An association of sports teams or clubs that compete among themselves.
3. A class or level of competition: out of one's league.

Verb

1. To join or bring together in a league.

Word family

• leaguer
• big league
• major league
• league table
• in league

Related words

• ally
• alliance
• ligament
• ligature
• liable
• oblige
• religion

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
11. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)