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"legend" in seven languages

Meaninglegend

Spanish

leyenda

/leˈʝenda/

fem.learned

Also a map key or caption, as in English.

French

légende

/leʒɑ̃d/

fem.learned

Also a caption under a picture.

Italian

leggenda

/ledˈdʒɛnda/

fem.learned

Portuguese

lenda

/ˈlẽdɐ/

fem.inherited

The g between vowels dropped, as it often did in Portuguese.

Romanian

legendă

/leˈdʒendə/

fem.learned

Catalan

llegenda

/ʎəˈʒɛndə/

fem.learned

English

legend

/ˈlɛdʒənd/

from Latin/French · Old French legende, Medieval Latin LEGENDA

English → ItalianlegendleggendaCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

LEGENDAM‘(things) to be read (from LEGERE 'to read')’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

A legenda was 'what must be read', first the life of a saint read aloud. Spanish softened the g to y, French to a zh sound, Italian to a double dʒ.

English relatives: legible, lecture, lectern

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In a sentence

  • esSegún la leyenda, el castillo está encantado.
  • frSelon la légende, le château est hanté.
  • itSecondo la leggenda, il castello è infestato.
  • ptSegundo a lenda, o castelo é assombrado.
  • roPotrivit legendei, castelul e bântuit.
  • caSegons la llegenda, el castell està encantat.
  • enAccording to legend, the castle is haunted.

More in Ideas

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