the.com/legend
a story that survived everyone who tried to forget it.
means A traditional story handed down as history but not verifiable, or by extension a person or deed so famous it has passed into such storytelling — also the explanatory key on a map or coin.
from From Latin 'legenda,' meaning 'things to be read,' from 'legere,' 'to read' (also a cousin of 'lecture' and 'legible'). In the Middle Ages a 'legend' was specifically a saint's life read aloud on their feast day — text meant for recitation. Over time the holy reading drifted toward the embellished and the doubtful, until 'legend' came to mean a tale too good to fully trust. The map-key sense kept the older, literal thread: the words you're meant to read to make sense of the picture.
- latin roots
- means things that must be read
- map legend
- key that decodes every map symbol
- urban legends
- folklore wearing a modern disguise
- status earned
- never self-declared, only granted by others
- living legends
- myths that haven't finished happening yet
muhammad ali — heavyweight boxing champion who refused vietnam war draft in 1966 and won 56 of 61 professional fights
marilyn monroe — hollywood actress and cultural icon whose films grossed over $200 million during the 1950s golden age