legendary English · revision 6486

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1513|origins=la lego}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlɛd͡ʒ.ən.dɹi/, /ˈlɛd͡ʒ.ən.də.ɹi/ ''(UK)''; /ˈlɛd͡ʒ.ənˌdɛɹ.i/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-med|legendarius|t=relating to legends; a collection of saints' lives]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) from [[m|la-med|legenda|t=things to be read]] (see [[legend]]), from [[m|la|lego|alt=legere|t=to read]].^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a noun, a collection of legends, especially of saints' lives: 1513 in the OED, the 1510s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As an adjective, of the nature of a legend, it is from 1563–87, about 1587 in MWU.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) A writer of legends was a legendary in 1625.^(OED 1989) The meaning ''very famous'', celebrated as if in legend, is a modern sense.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD) In numismatics, legendary refers to the inscription on a coin (1830).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1513 – a collection of legends.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1587 – of the nature of a legend.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1830 – of a coin's inscription.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Described in or based on [[legend|alt=legends]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Very famous; celebrated: ''a legendary guitarist''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A collection of legends, especially of saints' lives.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[legendarily]]

+ * [[prelegendary]]

+ * [[pseudolegendary]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[legend]]

+ * [[lecture]]

+ * [[lectern]]

+ * [[legible]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}