legion

/ˈlidʒən/

/ˈlidʒən/

Other forms: legions

A legion is a horde or a large number of people or things. It was originally a term for a military unit.

In Roman times, a legion was a large unit of men in the army, and the word is still used in many militaries. However, it also means a whole bunch of people doing anything. If someone has many fans, you can say legion of fans or legions of fans, but either way, that's a lot of fans. There are legions of stars in the sky. When you see legion, you can be sure there's an awful lot of something.

Definitions of legion

1. noun

   a large military unit
   “the French Foreign Legion”

   types:

   foreign legion

   a military unit composed of foreign volunteers who serve the state

   French Foreign Legion

   a former foreign legion in the French army that was used for military duties outside of France

   type of:

   force, military force, military group, military unit

   a unit that is part of some military service
2. noun

   association of ex-servicemen
   “the American Legion”

   type of:

   association

   a formal organization of people or groups of people
3. noun

   archaic terms for army
   synonyms: host

   types:

   Roman Legion

   a division of from 3000 to 6000 men (including cavalry) in the Roman army

   Sabaoth

   (plural) hosts or armies; used in the book of Romans in the New Testament

   type of:

   army, ground forces, regular army

   a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
4. noun

   a vast multitude
   synonyms: horde, host

   type of:

   concourse, multitude, throng

   a large gathering of people
5. adjective

   amounting to a large indefinite number
   “Palomar's fans are legion”

   synonyms: numerous

   many

   a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `as' or `too' or `so' or `that'; amounting to a large but indefinite number