legion
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: lē′jən
ipa: /ˈliː.d͡ʒən/
ipa: /ˈli.d͡ʒən/
ipa: /ˈliː.d͡ʒon/
rhymes: -iːdʒən
Forms: form: legions
Etymology: Attested (in Middle English, as legioun) around 1200, from Old French legion, from Latin legiō, legionem, from legō (“to gather, collect”); akin to legend, lecture. Doublet of León, which was borrowed from Spanish.
Generalized sense of “a large number” is due to an allusive phrase in Mark 5:9, "My name is Legion, for we are many".
Senses: topics: government
military
politics
war
meronyms: cohort
maniple
century
glosses: The major unit or division of the Roman army, usually comprising 3000 to 6000 infantry soldiers and 100 to 200 cavalry troops.
topics: government
military
politics
war
coordinate_terms: combat team
regimental combat team
brigade combat team
glosses: 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.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 2009 February 22, Kevin Baker, “Blood on the Street”, in The New York Times:
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: A large military or semi-military unit trained for combat; any military force; an army, regiment; an armed, organized and assembled militia.
qualifier: often Legion or the Legion
glosses: A national organization or association of former servicemen, such as the American Legion.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 2009 July 31, William C. Rhoden, “Baseball Players’ Silence Led to Loud Drip of Names”, in The New York Times:
synonyms: host
mass
multitude
sea
throng
glosses: A large number of people; a multitude.
examples: text: where one Sin has entered, Legions will force their Way through the fame Breach.
ref: 1735, John Rogers (Canon of Wells.), “Sermon XV. Universal Obedience to the Laws of God, the indispensable Obligation of Christians”, in Nineteen Sermons on several occasions:
text: Afternoon TV mainstays like Leila Benitez and Bobby Ledesma of Darigold Jamboree gradually gave way to teenage loveteams Vi and Bot and Guy and Pip who had legions of fans watching their shows and movies and listening to their records.
ref: 2002, Pia B. Gutierrez, The changing face of the Filipino, page 35:
text: Legions of lawyers make use of codes and loopholes like the EB-5 program in the United States, whereby anyone who invests $500,000 to $1 million can gain a visa; […]
ref: 2019 May 28, Zachary Karabell, “How Hidden Billions Are Making the Rich Richer”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
text: It was a tantalizing promise, delivered with Donald Trump’s trademark panache: As dealmaker in chief, he would quickly end world conflicts that had defied his predecessors and their nattily dressed legions of career diplomats.
ref: 2025 April 24, Ned Temko, “Trump’s ‘quick fix’ approach to diplomacy slow to yield results”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
glosses: A great number.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
taxonomy
glosses: 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.
Coordinate terms: sense: military unit
word: fireteam
sense: military unit
word: section
sense: military unit
word: troop
sense: military unit
word: squad
sense: military unit
word: platoon
sense: military unit
word: company
sense: military unit
word: battalion
sense: military unit
word: regiment
sense: military unit
word: brigade
sense: military unit
word: division
sense: military unit
word: corps
sense: military unit
word: wing
sense: military unit
word: army
sense: military unit
word: army group
Derived terms: foreign legion
infralegion
legionella
legionry
sublegion
superlegion
Related terms: legionary
legionnaire