• Legion

    Pronunciation

    • IPA: /ˈliːdÊ’É™n/
    • Rhymes: -iːdÊ’É™n

    Origin

    Attested (in Middle English, as legioun) around 1200, from Old French legion, from Latin legiō, legionem, from legere ("to gather, collect"); akin to legend, lecture.

    Generalized sense of “a large number” is due to (inaccurate) translations of allusive phrase in

    And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

    Full definition of legion

    Adjective

    legion

    1. Numerous; vast; very great in number; multitudinous.Russia's labor and capital resources are woefully inadequate to overcome the state's needs and vulnerabilities, which are legion.

    Noun

    legion

    (plural legions)
    1. (military, Ancient Rome) The major unit or division of the Roman army, usually comprising 3000 to 6000 infantry soldiers and 100 to 200 cavalry troops.
    2. (military, obsolete) a combined arms major military unit featuring cavalry, infantry, and artillery
    3. (military) A large military or semimilitary unit trained for combat; any military force; an army, regiment; an armed, organized and assembled militia.
    4. (often Legion or the Legion) A national organization or association of former servicemen, such as the American Legion, founded in 1919.
    5. A large number of people; a multitude.
    6. (often plural) A great number.Where one sin has entered, legions will force their way through the same breach. — John Rogers (1679-1729) Google Books
    7. (dated, taxonomy) A group of orders inferior to a class; in scientific classification, a term occasionally used to express an assemblage of objects intermediate between an order and a class.

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