legionn.adj.
/ˈliːdʒ(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈlidʒən/ A. n.
1.
a. Roman History. A body of infantry in the Roman army, ranging in number from 3,000 to 6,000 (at the time of Marius), and usually combined with many cavalry.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > [noun] > legion > Roman
legionc1275
legionet1600
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3003 Hider heo gunnen senden of Romanisce ende feower ferrædene..þe weoren on þan ilke dæȝen legiuns [c1300 Otho legions] ihaten.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 75 Whan at þe prayer of Genuis þe queene..legiouns [L. legiones] of Rome were i-sende in to Irlond, þo was Caerleon a noble citee.
a1400 Prose Life Christ (Pepys) (1922) 22 (MED) Þe fendes..seiden þat hij weren a legioun. Þat amounted sex þousande and sex hundreþ and sexti and sex.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 30 Fro Charles kyng sanz faile thei brouht a gonfaynoun Þat Saynt Morice in bataile [bare] befor þe legioun.
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) f. 28v, in Middle Eng. Dict. at Legioun A legioun is as moche to saye in englisshe as a chosen multitude of werriours.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. lv. f. xix Claudius sent certayne Legions of his knyghtes into Irlande to rule that Countre, and retourned hym selfe to Rome.
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres Gloss. 251 Legion, amongst the auncient Romaines, was certaine companies of their people of warre: consisting of 5 or 6000 footemen, and 300 horsemen.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iv. iii. 24 The Romaine Legions, all from Gallia drawne, Are landed on your Coast. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. vii. 71 You keepe by Land the Legions and the Horse whole, do you not? View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 82 As Legions in the Field their Front display, To try the Fortune of some doubtful Day. View more context for this quotation
1717 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 30 561 About the time Quinctus return'd out of Britain, and was fixt with the Legion he presided over, in Winter Quarters among the Nervii.
1761 Ess. Art War 130 The Primipiles were the Lieutenant Colonels of the Legions, and each Primipile commanded the Centurions.
1838 T. Arnold Hist. Rome I. i. 25 The thirty centuries which made up the legion.
1869 G. Rawlinson Man. Anc. Hist. 398 The legion was light, elastic, adapted to every variety of circumstance.
1914 J. C. Rolfe tr. Suetonius Lives Caesars II. vii. 243 My father Suetonius Laetus took part in that war, as a Tribune of the equestrian order in the Thirteenth legion.
1996 A. K. Goldsworthy Rom. Army at War (1998) i. 36 The legion had a clearly defined command structure and was trained to operate as a unit.
b. An armed host; (a part of) an army.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warriors collectively > [noun]
trumec893
wic897
ferredc1200
knight-weredc1275
preyc1300
legion?1316
companyc1325
punyec1330
virtuec1350
fellowshipc1380
knightheada1382
knighthooda1382
strengtha1382
sop?a1400
strengh?a1400
tropelc1425
armyc1450
framec1450
preparing1497
armourya1500
cohortc1500
cohortationc1500
cateran?a1513
venlin1541
troop1545
guidon1560
crew1570
preparation1573
esquadron1579
bodya1616
armada1654
expedition1693
armament1698
host1807
war-party1921
?1316 Short Metrical Chron. (Royal) 633 in J. Ritson Anc. Eng. Metrical Romanceës (1802) II. 296 The spere That Charlemayne wes wonet to bere To-fore the holy legioun.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 605 (MED) The lege-men of Lettow with legyons ynewe.
a1450 Partonope of Blois (Univ. Coll. Oxf.) (1912) l. 4777 Wyth hym a legyoun Of his knyghtes.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) ix. iv. 20 Ane hail legioun about the wallis large Stude wachyng, bodyn with bow, speir, and targe.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades ii. 43 The mightie Legions of Phrygie.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 59 The aduerse windes..haue giuen him time To land his Legions all as soone as I. View more context for this quotation
1659 S. Carrington Hist. Life & Death Oliver 229 Goliah with his Legions of Philistines fell down at the sole report of his Sling.
1718 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad IV. xiii. 845 Nor knew great Hector how his Legions yield.
1737 R. Glover Leonidas ii. 318 With lightning blast their legions.
1778 S. O'Halloran Gen. Hist. Ireland I. vi. iii. 275 When Fion refused marching his legions to the assistance of Art, the father of Cormoc, he called in to his assistance the Clana Morhi.
1806 M. L. Weems Life G. Washington (ed. 5) i. 5 Cornwallis and Tarleton, with their bucaneering [sic] legions.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits v. 80 He disembarked his legions, erected his camps and towers.
1919 H. J. Laski Authority in Mod. State 122 This generation, at least, can never forget the ghostly legions by which it is encompassed.
1972 Sunday Mirror 16 Apr. 23/3 President Nixon has ordered his legions home.
2011 D. A. Lagmay Promise of Christmas vii. 117 The three kings will return with their legions of fierce warriors.
c. Any of various (esp. Continental) military bodies of modern times.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > [noun] > legion
legion1544
legenda1616
1544 P. Betham tr. J. di Porcia Preceptes Warre ii. ix. sig. K.iiv Yf any legion [L. legio] gyue backe, let them lose the name of chiualrye for euer.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cclix I wold first vndertake to geue ye charge vpon thennemy wt ii. legions.
1598 R. Dallington View of Fraunce L b As touching the [French] Infantry, Francis the first was the first that instituted the Legionaries..8 Legions, and every Legion to containe sixe thousand.
1652 R. Lilburne Lillies Ape Whipt 7 France and Spain, who to keep their Legions in action, must be necessitated to display their Banners against the Tribes of Israel.
1743 Westm. Jrnl. 16 July Let us now turn our Thoughts to the Queen of Hungary, She who two Years ago was oppress'd by French Legions.
1781 E. Pendleton Let. 8 Oct. in Lett. & Papers (1967) I. 373 Some..went out last week in quest of Plunder, but were driven back with some small loss, by the French Legion.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. (at cited word) The Polish and Belgic legions, that form part of the French army.
1809 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) V. 219 A legion is I understand a corps consisting of one, two or more battalions of infantry and a proportion of cavalry and artillery.
1836 J. Murray Hand-bk. for Travellers on Continent 143/2 The Farm of La Haye Sainte..was at first occupied by the soldiers of the German Legion.
1901 J. N. McIlwraith Curious Career R. Campbell xxi. 263 These were the tried legions of France; Guienne, Berry, Béarn, [etc.]..names to conjure with, in Gilbert's estimation.
1955 Times 10 May 12/3 The programme will include displays by the pipes and drums of the bands of the Arab Legion and the Pakistan Police.
2007 Independent 26 Apr. 27/1 The Luftwaffe's Condor Legion led the attack which is thought to have claimed 1,600 lives.
d. With capital initial. The French Foreign Legion (cf. Foreign Legion n.).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > named companies, regiments, etc. > [noun] > mixed nationality
Foreign Legion1761
legion1835
International Brigade1900
1835 United Service Jrnl. Aug. 529 The Brigade-Major, who is Accountant and Administrator-General of the Legion is a German.
1895 Chambers' Jrnl. 2 Mar. 141/1 The Legion naturally becomes a refuge for the déclassé, the deserter from other flags and the adventurer of every degree.
1918 J. Bowe Soldiers of Legion i. 23 Whatever his status in civil life, in the Legion, he is simply a Legionnaire.
1999 V. Caron Uneasy Asylum xi. 242 Service in the Legion..was not an attractive option given the Legion's harsh disciplinary regime.
2013 Irish Independent (Nexis) 12 Jan. (Weekend section) 10 The current economic crisis has seen..the Legion..mercilessly restrict its entrance criteria.
2. A vast host or multitude (of persons or things).Frequently of angels or spirits, with reminiscence of Matthew 26:53.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [noun] > a large number or multitude
sandc825
thousandc1000
un-i-rimeOE
legiona1325
fernc1325
multitudec1350
hundred1362
abundancec1384
quantityc1390
sight1390
felec1394
manyheada1400
lastc1405
sortc1475
infinityc1480
multiplie1488
numbers1488
power1489
many1525
flock1535
heapa1547
multitudine1547
sort1548
myriads1555
myriads1559
infinite1563
tot-quot1565
dickera1586
multiplea1595
troop1596
multitudes1598
myriad1611
sea-sands1656
plurality1657
a vast many1695
dozen1734
a good few1756
nation1762
vast1793
a wheen (of)1814
swad1828
lot1833
tribe1833
slew1839
such a many1841
right smart1842
a million and one1856
horde1860
a good several1865
sheaf1865
a (bad, good, etc.) sortc1869
immense1872
dunnamuch1875
telephone number1880
umpty1905
dunnamany1906
skit1913
umpteen1919
zillion1922
gang1928
scrillion1935
jillion1942
900 number1977
gazillion1978
fuckload1984
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > large or numerous
legiona1325
rout?c1335
multitudec1350
thrave1377
cloudc1384
schoola1450
meiniec1450
throng1538
ruckc1540
multitudine1547
swarm1548
regiment1575
armya1586
volley1595
pile1596
battalion1603
wood1608
host1613
armada1622
crowd1628
battalia1653
squadron1668
raffa1677
smytrie1786
raft1821
squash1884
a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) l. 1164 (MED) My ffader..me wolde sende Twelf þousand legiouns of aungeles.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. i. l. 109 Lucifer with legiouns lerede hit in heuene.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 15809 If i mi fader wald be-seke, I moght wit-vten lett Haf tuelue thusand legions.
1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) v. xiv. 79 No doute but many a legyon wenten to the foote of Olyuet, ordeynyng theyr procession to brynge hym therupon.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 69 God fourmet hym [sc. Lucifer] so faire..Þat mony legions his light launchit aboue.
1568 in J. Small Poems W. Dunbar (1893) II. 322 With angellis licht, in legionis, Thow art illumynit all about.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iv. iii. 56 Not in the Legions Of horrid Hell, can come a Diuell more damn'd In euils, to top Macbeth. View more context for this quotation
1634 J. Canne Necessitie of Separation v. 212 To sustaine even a legion of reproaches.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 301 He..call'd His Legions, Angel Forms, who lay intrans't. View more context for this quotation
1714 B. Mandeville Fable Bees i. 62 Card and Dice-makers..are the immediate Ministers to a Legion of Vices.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 96. ⁋10 Innumerable legions of appetites and passions.
1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller II. 19 As I approached the house, a legion of whelps sallied out.
1865 J. H. Newman Dream of Gerontius §4 So now his [sc. Satan's] legions throng the vestibule.
1908 Proc. Delaware County Inst. Sci. 3 122 Sweet fern lost its charm, when, too late, alas! it was discovered to be the habitat of..legions of seed ticks.
1976 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 24 Feb. 7/1 There were brass bands and high-priced singers and legions of workers hired to hand out bumph.
2014 Observer 23 Mar. 12/1 The legions of middle-class women who now shop regularly at the so-called discounters.
3. With allusion to the biblical episode (at Mark 5:9) of the man possessed by a multitude of demons (see quot. 1526 at sense A. 3b). [After Hellenistic Greek λεγιὼν (New Testament: Mark 5:9), specific use of λεγιὼν largest unit of the Roman army ( < classical Latin legiōn- , legiō ); compare quots. c1384 and 1526 at sense A. 3b.]
a. (The name of) a possessing devil. Also: Satan.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > [noun] > specific names of
Ruffinc1225
ragamuffinc1400
Tutivillusc1475
Modo1603
legiona1616
the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > the Devil or Satan > [noun]
devileOE
Beelzebubc950
the foul ghosteOE
SatanOE
warlockOE
SatanasOE
worsea1200
unwinea1225
wondc1250
quedea1275
pucka1300
serpenta1300
dragon1340
shrew1362
Apollyon1382
the god of this worldc1384
Mahoundc1400
leviathan1412
worsta1425
old enemyc1449
Ruffin1567
dismal1570
Plotcocka1578
the Wicked One1582
goodman1603
Mahu1603
foul thief1609
somebody1609
legiona1616
Lord of Flies1622
walliman1629
shaitan1638
Old Nicka1643
Nick1647
unsel?1675
old gentleman1681
old boy1692
the gentleman in black1693
deuce1694
Black Spy1699
the vicious one1713
worricow1719
Old Roger1725
Lord of the Flies1727
Simmie1728
Old Scratch1734
Old Harry1777
Old Poker1784
Auld Hornie1786
old (auld), ill thief1789
old one1790
little-good1821
Tom Walker1833
bogy1840
diabolarch1845
Old Ned1859
iniquity1899
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iii. iv. 84 If all the diuels of hell be drawne in little, and Legion himselfe possest him. View more context for this quotation
1701 Ballad 38 The Name of Legion, which has been made use of in Scripture For a Devil of particular Eminence.
1833 Morning Watch 7 107 (heading) On the Casting-out of Legion.
1887 G. Gould Ross tr. C. à Lapide Great Comm. (Luke viii) 224 Following the example of Christ, S. Hilarion is said to have healed a demoniac possessed by Legion.
1971 B. L. Woolf tr. M. Dibelius From Trad. to Gospel iv. 89 The demon Legion in Mark searches out a collective object which he makes use of for his mischief.
1988 G. W. Rutler Saint John Vianney x. 172 He envisioned the ubiquity of Legion as something absolutely unlike the universality of God.
b. Originally: †a vast number (obsolete). Subsequently chiefly in their name is Legion (and variants): they are very numerous.
ΚΠ
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Mark v. 9 A legioun [L. legio] is name to me; for we ben manye.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Mark v. f. xlixv My name is Legion [Gk. λεγιὼν], for we are many.]
1661 J. Glanvill Vanity of Dogmatizing xvi. 151 Thus the same undivided Essence, from the several circumstances of its being and operations, is here multiplied into Legion.
1701 R. Cocks 12 May in Parl. Diary (1996) 126 It complained..that tho there was no na[me] to it that they were 200000 that there name was legion.
1752 G. Whitefield Let. 29 Sept. in Wks. (1771) II. 445 Every Student's name is Legion. Helping one of those, is helping thousands.
1846 Voice of Industry 15 May 2/3 Our name is legion though our oppression be great.
1886 Pop. Sci. Monthly Sept. 646 Of the writers who have put forward their own particular views as to the origin of the pointed arch, it may be said their name is legion.
1906 G. R. Sims Living London (rev. ed.) III. 271/1 ‘Kiss-in-the-Ring’ and the other innumerable love-making games. Their name is legion.
1943 Princeton Alumni Weekly 19 Nov. 11/2 The youngsters of under 40 whose name is legion.
2007 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 27 Sept. 62/3 Chubais's many Russian critics—and their name is legion.
4. Taxonomy. A taxonomic category in occasional use in zoology, ranked below the class (class n. 2b) and comprising one or more taxa at the rank of order; a group of this rank.The legion ranks above the cohort when both categories are used.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > taxonomy > taxon > [noun] > group higher than order or of no fixed grade
legion1815
alliance1835
cohort1839
1815 W. E. Leach in Trans. Linn. Soc. 11 352 Latreille considered the animals which compose the first and part of the second section of this Legion as a family of the Macroura.
1893 T. R. R. Stebbing Hist. Crustacea 227 As this is the only family, its characters are those of the legion.
1901 Trans. Linn. Soc.: Zool. 8 188 Gadow unites the Colymbiformes, Sphenisciformes, Procellariiformes, and extinct Ichthyornithes into a ‘Legion’ under the name Colymbomorphæ.
2004 Z. Kielan-Jaworowska et al. Mammals from Age of Dinosaurs i. 17 (note) Superorder Dryolestoidea has been assigned by McKenna and Bell (1997) to the legion Cladotheria McKenna, 1973.
5. Any of various national associations of ex-servicemen and (now) ex-servicewomen instituted after the First World War.spec. American Legion: a national association of ex-servicemen instituted in 1919 in the United States; it sponsors a junior baseball league (see quot. 1941). British Legion: a similar association founded in 1921 and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1925 (since 1971 called the Royal British Legion).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > [noun] > veterans' etc., administration or organization
American Legion1919
British Legion1919
Toc H1920
U.S.O.1941
VA1945
1919 G. S. Wheat Story Amer. Legion 8 At that dinner [in Paris, 16 Feb. 1919] the American Legion was born.
1921 Times 16 May 6/4 The arrangements for uniting various ex-Service men's societies into one big organization were completed..yesterday. The new organization will be known as the British Legion.
1927 Daily Express 26 Apr. 1/5 Each legionnaire automatically becomes a member of the branch of the Canadian Legion nearest to the settlement on which he lives.
1941 Sun (Baltimore) 24 Apr. 15/2 He played softball in junior high, and hardball for an American Legion team.
1953 New Statesman 13 June 696/2 A thousand business dinners, Legion reunions and family gatherings.
1968 Encycl. Brit. I. 764/1 Nonpolitical and nonsectarian, the American Legion's membership requirement is honourable service and an honourable discharge.
1970 Brit. Legion Jrnl. Jan. 21 Are you going to Jersey for your holiday this year? The Appeals Department of the British Legion will send you..an interesting brochure.
1974 A. Price Other Paths to Glory vi. 73 He invariably sought information first from the local Legion secretary.
1993 Beaver June 40/3 What other Prime Minister than Pearson would choose the annual convention of the Canadian Legion to begin his national campaign?
2003 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 26 May i. 6/2 The American Legion women have erected a memory wall for the veterans.
B. adj.
Innumerable; numerous; (occasionally, describing a mass noun) considerable, extensive, multifarious. Also: †multiple, manifold (obsolete). [Extended from sense A. 3b.]
a. In attributive use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [adjective] > too numerous to be counted
innumerable1340
unaimablea1382
infinitec1405
innumerousc1540
sans nombre1550
untolda1586
unreckonable1647
accountless?1650
myriad1654
myriaded1667
legion1687
myriad1765
dunnamany1836
myriadfold1874
1687 J. Norris Coll. Misc. 353 By this it [sc. Pride] becomes a Multiplied, a Legion evil.
1753 Ulster Misc. 256 Thus was the Gaderene possest With legion devils in his breast.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc x. 443 When pouring o'er his legion slaves on Greece, The eastern despot bridged the Hellespont.
1842 A. T. de Vere Song of Faith 52 The legion hands Of flame-uplifted Demons.
1891 C. T. C. James Romantic Rigmarole 148 The poor curate's wife..with the legion family clothed from the odds and ends of her rich sister's cast-offs.
1920 Congregationalist & Advance 21 Oct. 493 The mists break up and the legion armies of the enemy shrink again.
2008 G. Haigh Inside Out v. 203 There are legion stories of McGilvray's liberal out-of-hours hospitality.
b. In predicative use.
ΚΠ
1829 A. Royall Black Bk. III. 186 But these missionaries are legion and work under ground.
1862 J. K. Gibbons Fall New Orleans in P. L. Buell Poet Soldier (1868) 28 In that far off Southern region Where the woes of slaves are legion.
1894 Iron Age 23 Aug. 326/3 The characteristics of the country hotel are so legion who shall attempt to describe them?
1927 T. Woodhouse Artificial Silk: Manuf. & Uses 81 It is obviously impossible to illustrate all the patterns used in the making of these samples,..for these are legion.
1976 Times 31 May 9/4 I refrained from commenting on the articles at the time because the inaccuracies were so legion.
1995 Visit'n 6 His knowledge of animal life was legion.
2001 C. Hope Heaven Forbid xv. 136 What Gordon doesn't do is legion... Doesn't race, doesn't wager a bit of tin on the gee-gees.
2014 C. Cobb et al. Chem. of Alchemy v. 89 The equipment designed by alchemists to perform this operation was legion and elaborate.
Compounds
Legion disease n. colloquial = legionnaires' disease n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disorder of respiratory organs > [noun] > disorders of lungs > pneumonia > types of pneumonia
typho-pneumonia1854
broncho-pneumonia1858
walking pneumonia1888
virus pneumonia1936
pneumocystis pneumonia1956
PCP1975
Legion disease1976
legionnaires' disease1976
1976 Sci. News 14 Aug. 102/1 The ‘Legion disease’ did not appear to be spreading to persons who had not attended the convention.
1985 Times 16 May 2/1 (heading) New Legion disease alert.
2012 Yorks. Post (Nexis) 18 June (headline) Legion disease outbreak grows.
Legion fever n. colloquial (now chiefly historical) = legionnaires' disease n.
ΚΠ
1976 Kingsport (Tennessee) Times 6 Aug. 2 a (headline) Legion fever not contagious, cause still mystery.
1995 G. C. Kohn Encycl. Plague & Pestilence 243/1 One hundred and seventy-nine cases of so-called ‘legionnaires' disease’ or ‘legion fever’ were reported by August 31, 1976, and 28 of them had been fatal.
Legion of Honour n. [after French Légion d'honneur (1802)] a French order of distinction, founded by Napoleon in 1802, conferred as a reward for civil or military services.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > insignia > [noun] > decorations or orders
Order of St Michael1530
Legion of Honour1802
clasp1813
Iron Cross1813
medal1813
star1844
Victoria Cross1856
V.C.1859
Medal of Honour1861
bar1864
yellow jacket1864
V.D.1901
Croix de Guerre1915
Military Cross1915
C.G.M.1916
Military Medal1916
pip1917
M.M.1918
purple heart1918
Maconochie Cross1919
Maconochie Medal1919
wound-stripe1919
T.D.1924
rooty gong1925
Silver Star1932
Ritterkreuz1940
Africa Star1943
ruptured duck1945
Spam medal1945
screaming eagle1946
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > knight > [noun] > order > knighthood > other orders
Order of the Holy Ghost1587
stole1728
seraphim1784
Legion of Honour1802
1802 Let. 12 May in Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 22 May 599 The Legion of Honour about to be established is to consist of about 6000 men.
1889 Harper's Young People 24 Dec. 131/1 He detached from his own uniform the cross of the Legion of Honor, and hung it around the dog's neck.
1911 Who's Who in World 1912 433/2 He is a Knight of the Legion of Honor..and has a fine collection of modern paintings.
2009 F. Morais Paulo Coelho 2 On his lapel is a tiny gold pin embossed in red,..indicating to those around him that he is a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
Legion of Merit n. (a) [after Chilean Spanish Legión del Mérito (1817; now historical.)] An order of merit in Chile from 1817–25, awarded for personal contribution to the nation, esp. towards the establishing of independence from Spain (now historical); (b) A United States military decoration introduced in 1942, ranking below the Silver Star and above the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for exceptional performance of services to the United States.
ΚΠ
1819 St. James Chron. 27 May 4/2 On the part of the Supreme Director of the State of Chili, Colonel Don Antonio José de Yrisarri, officer of the legion of merit, and Minister of State.
1893 W. Pilling tr. B. Mitre Emancipation S. Amer. 161 O'Higgins..issued a decree creating a ‘Legion of Merit’, in imitation of the Legion of Honour created by Napoleon.
1942 N.Y. Times 10 July 19/4 Senate-House conferees agreed today on legislation which would establish two new medals... The Legion of Merit would be granted to personnel of the armed forces and the Medal for Merit to civilians.
1943 Pop. Sci. July 56/1 The Legion of Merit will also be given to the military personnel of friendly foreign nations.
1989 R. O'Neill in Art in Lat. Amer. (exhib. catal., South Bank Centre) 341/2 José Gil de Castro... First portrait painter of the heroes of Independence... Chilean government made him member of Legion of Merit.
2014 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 2 May 34 Roche was awarded the Legion of Merit by the United States for his service.
Legion of the lost n. (also Legion of the lost ones) those who are cast out, destitute or abandoned; spec. people abandoned by their families in homes or institutions; also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > type of inhabitant generally > [noun] > homeless > collectively
houselessc1400
homeless1809
Legion of the lost1870
unhoused1886
society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > solitude or solitariness > [noun] > state of being left alone or forlorn > person > people
Legion of the lost1870
1849 Hymns for Public Worship of Church lxxxii. 95 To the Father praise be given By th' unfallen angel-host, Who in His great war have striven With the legions of the lost.]
1870 D. J. Kirwan Palace & Hovel xlii. 587 Those fair and frail members of the Legion of the Lost.
1892 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ballads 63 To the legion of the lost ones, to the cohort of the damned.
1961 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 5) II. 1167/1 Legion of the lost, the, those elderly or mentally infirm persons in homes or institutions who have been abandoned by relations and friends and who receive neither visits nor letters.
2012 Monterey County (Calif.) Herald (Nexis) 24 Aug. Lance Armstrong has joined the legion of the lost, the great athletes who were banned or exiled for sins admitted or charged or suspected.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.adj.c1275