French word

légende

Pronunciation

IPA/leʒɑ̃d/

Meaning

  • feminine nounlegend

Example

La légende dit qu'il y avait un trésor ici.

The legend says that there was a treasure here.

Illustration for légende (legend)

More examples

Il est devenu une légende du village après son exploit.

After his feat, he became a legend of the village.

Core concept

A small verbal label beside an image, or a memorable story attached to a people or place.

Common phrases

  • une légende populaire

    folk legend

  • une légende locale

    local legend

Similar words

histoire: A story about past events and the facts surrounding them.
tradition: A custom or belief passed down through generations.
mythe: A story explaining the world or its origins within a culture or faith.

Definition in French

Peut désigner soit un récit populaire ou mythique transmis dans une communauté, soit l'intitulé ou la notice brève qui explique une illustration, un tableau ou une carte.

Word origin

The French noun légende developed from Latin legenda, "things to be read," and its original reading-related sense extended to both traditional stories and image explanations.

Usage tips

  • For a photograph, légende usually corresponds to English "caption"; for a map, it can mean "key" or "legend."

Other meanings

  • keynoun
  • captionnoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word