n.
- a traditional story popularly regarded as historical but which is not authenticated.
- an extremely famous or notorious person:
a screen legend.
- an inscription on a coin or medal.
▸explanatory wording on a map, diagram, etc.
- historical a written account of a saint's life.
adj.
very well known:
his speed and ferocity in attack were legend.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. legende, from med. L. legenda ‘things to be read’, from L. legere ‘read’.