legion
/ˈliː.d͡ʒən/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.86 in modern English
Meaning
noun
The major unit or division of the Roman army, usually comprising 3000 to 6000 infantry soldiers and 100 to 200 cavalry troops.
noun
A combined arms major military unit featuring cavalry, infantry, and artillery, including historical units such as the British Legion, and present-day units such as the Spanish Legion and the French Foreign Legion.
noun
A large military or semi-military unit trained for combat; any military force; an army, regiment; an armed, organized and assembled militia.
noun
A national organization or association of former servicemen, such as the American Legion.
noun
A large number of people; a multitude.
noun
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.
Dated
Example Sentences
- "Russia’s labor and capital resources are woefully inadequate to overcome the state’s needs and vulnerabilities, which are legion."
- "dissatisfied customers and their legion complaints"
- "Shepard: Where are the rest of the Reapers? Are you the last of your kind? We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom."
- "Efforts to unionize were routinely met with clubbings, shootings, jailings, blacklistings and executions, perpetrated not only by well-armed legions of company goons, but also by police officers, deputies, National Guardsmen and even regular soldiers."
- "Their complicated affairs are managed by a legion of accountants."
- "With all due respect to Aaron, every era seems to have had its legion of wrongdoers and shortcutters who used whatever science was available to get an edge."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *h₃enh₂-, *leǵ-, -, legion, legiō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈliː.d͡ʒən/
- British English: /ˈliː.d͡ʒən/
Usage
- Dated
- Transitive verb
- American usage