-
Legend
Legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions perceived or believed both by teller and listeners to have taken place within human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. Legend, for its active and passive participants, includes no happenings that are outside the realm of “possibility,” but may include miracles. Legends may be transformed over time, in order to keep them fresh, vital, and realistic. Many legends operate within the realm of uncertainty, never being entirely believed by the participants, but also never being resolutely doubted.The Brothers Grimm defined legend as folktale historically grounded. A modern folklorist’s professional definition of legend was proposed by Timothy R. Tangherlini in 1990:
Legend, typically, is a short (mono-) episodic, traditional, highly ecotypified historicized narrative performed in a conversational mode, reflecting on a psychological level a symbolic representation of folk belief and collective experiences and serving as a reaffirmation of commonly held values of the group to whose tradition it belongs.
-
Legend (noun)
A unrealistic story depicting past events.
-
Legend (noun)
A story of unknown origin describing plausible but extraordinary past events.
“The legend of Troy was discovered to have a historical basis.”
-
Legend (noun)
A plausible story set in the historical past, but whose historicity is uncertain.
“The legend of Robin Hood/the legend of Prester John/the legend of Coriolanus.”
-
Legend (noun)
A story in which a kernel of truth is embellished to an unlikely degree.
“The 1984 Rose Bowl prank has spawned many legends. Here’s the real story.”
-
Legend (noun)
A person related to a legend or legends.
-
Legend (noun)
A fabricated backstory for a spy, with associated documents and records; a cover story.
“According to his legend, he once worked for the Red Cross, spreading humanitarian aid in Africa.”
-
Legend (noun)
A leading protagonist in a historical legend.
“Achilles is a legend in Greek culture.”
-
Legend (noun)
A person with legend-like qualities, such as extraordinary accomplishment.
“Michael Jordan stands as a legend in basketball.”
-
Legend (noun)
A key to the symbols and color codes on a map, chart, etc.
“According to the legend on the map, that building is a school.”
-
Legend (noun)
An inscription, motto, or title, especially one surrounding the field in a medal or coin, or placed upon a heraldic shield or beneath an engraving or illustration.
-
Legend (verb)
To tell or narrate; to recount.
-
Key (noun)
An object designed to open and close a lock.
-
Key (noun)
An object designed to fit between two other objects (such as a shaft and a wheel) in a mechanism and maintain their relative orientation.
-
Key (noun)
A crucial step or requirement.
“The key to solving this problem is persistence.”
“the key to winning a game”
-
Key (noun)
A guide explaining the symbols or terminology of a map or chart; a legend.
“The key says that A stands for the accounting department.”
-
Key (noun)
A guide to the correct answers of a worksheet or test.
“Some students cheated by using the answer key.”
-
Key (noun)
One of several small, usually square buttons on a typewriter or computer keyboard, mostly corresponding to text characters.
“Press the Escape key.”
-
Key (noun)
One of a number of rectangular moving parts on a piano or musical keyboard, each causing a particular sound or note to be produced.
-
Key (noun)
One of various levers on a musical instrument used to select notes, such as a lever opening a hole on a woodwind.
-
Key (noun)
A hierarchical scale of musical notes on which a composition is based.
“the key of B-flat major”
-
Key (noun)
The general pitch or tone of a sentence or utterance.
-
Key (noun)
An indehiscent, one-seeded fruit furnished with a wing, such as the fruit of the ash and maple; a samara.
-
Key (noun)
A manual electrical switching device primarily used for the transmission of Morse code.
-
Key (noun)
A piece of information (e.g. a passphrase) used to encode or decode a message or messages.
-
Key (noun)
A password restricting access to an IRC channel.
-
Key (noun)
In a relational database, a field used as an index into another table (not necessarily unique).
-
Key (noun)
A value that uniquely identifies an entry in a container.
-
Key (noun)
The free-throw lane together with the circle surrounding the free-throw line, the free-throw lane having formerly been narrower, giving the area the shape of a skeleton key hole.
“He shoots from the top of the key.”
-
Key (noun)
A series of discriminating information which aims to allow the user to correctly identify a taxon.
-
Key (noun)
A piece of wood used as a wedge.
-
Key (noun)
The last board of a floor when laid down.
-
Key (noun)
A keystone.
-
Key (noun)
That part of the plastering which is forced through between the laths and holds the rest in place.
-
Key (noun)
A wooden support for a rail on the bullhead rail system.
-
Key (noun)
The degree of roughness, or retention ability of a surface to have applied a liquid such as paint, or glue.
“The door panel should be sanded down carefully to provide a good key for the new paint.”
-
Key (noun)
The thirty-third card of the Lenormand deck.
-
Key (noun)
The black ink layer, especially in relation to the three color layers of cyan, magenta, and yellow. See also CMYK.
-
Key (noun)
A color to be masked or made transparent.
-
Key (noun)
.NET 2003 Developer’s Cookbook (page 195)
-
Key (noun)
One of a string of small islands.
“the Florida Keys”
-
Key (noun)
though this is more commonly shortened to kay.
-
Key (adjective)
Indispensable, supremely important.
“He is the key player on his soccer team.”
-
Key (adjective)
Important, salient.
“She makes several key points.”
-
Key (verb)
To fit (a lock) with a key.
-
Key (verb)
To fit (pieces of a mechanical assembly) with a key to maintain the orientation between them.
-
Key (verb)
To mark or indicate with a symbol indicating membership in a class.
-
Key (verb)
To depress (a telegraph key).
-
Key (verb)
To operate (the transmitter switch of a two-way radio).
-
Key (verb)
(more usually to key in) To enter (information) by typing on a keyboard or keypad.
“Our instructor told us to key in our user IDs.”
-
Key (verb)
To vandalize (a car, etc.) by scratching with an implement such as a key.
“He keyed the car that had taken his parking spot.”
-
Key (verb)
To link (as one might do with a key or legend).
-
Key (verb)
To be identified as a certain taxon when using a key.
-
Key (verb)
To fasten or secure firmly; to fasten or tighten with keys or wedges.