legion

[lee-juh n] /ˈli dʒən/
noun
1.
a division of the Roman army, usually comprising 3000 to 6000 soldiers.
2.
a military or semimilitary unit.
3.
the Legion.
  1. American Legion.
  2. foreign legion (def 2).
4.
any large group of armed men.
5.
any great number of persons or things; multitude.
adjective
6.
very great in number:
The holy man's faithful followers were legion.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English legi(o)un (< Old French) < Latin legiōn- (stem of legiō) picked body of soldiers, equivalent to leg(ere) to gather, choose, read + -iōn- -ion
Synonyms
5. throng, mass, host, sea.
Examples from the web for legion
  • If his enemies abroad are numerous, those at home are legion.
  • Faculty members who haven't read current scholarship in decades are legion.
  • The possible applications of an artificial nose are legion.
  • It is not absolute, of course, and permutations and deviations are legion.
  • legion of extraordinary filthy beards with mild suicidal tendencies.
  • But it's also where the legendary mock-metalheads are parleying online video into a new legion of followers.
  • Clearly, a boundary-obliterating, ever-evolving legion of readers and writers of poems burgeons.
  • Moreover, the practical difficulties involved in a new law are legion.
  • Applicants with peer-reviewed publications are legion.
  • Postal rates were relatively cheap, but anecdotal accounts of lost letters are legion.
British Dictionary definitions for legion

legion

/ˈliːdʒən/
noun
1.
a military unit of the ancient Roman army made up of infantry with supporting cavalry, numbering some three to six thousand men
2.
any large military force: the French Foreign Legion
3.
(usually capital) an association of ex-servicemen: the British Legion
4.
(often pl) any very large number, esp of people
adjective
5.
(usually postpositive) very large or numerous
Word Origin
C13: from Old French, from Latin legio, from legere to choose
Word Origin and History for legion
n.

c.1200, from Old French legion "Roman legion" (3,000 to 6,000 men, under Marius usually with attached cavalry), from Latin legionem (nominative legio) "body of soldiers," from legere "to choose, gather," also "to read" (see lecture (n.)).

Generalized sense of "a large number" is due to translations of allusive phrase in Mark v:9. American Legion, U.S. association of ex-servicemen, founded in 1919. Legion of Honor is French légion d'honneur, an order of distinction founded by Napoleon in 1802. Foreign Legion is French légion étrangère "body of foreign volunteers in a modern army," originally Polish, Belgian, etc. units in French army; they traditionally served in colonies or distant expeditions.

legion in the Bible

a regiment of the Roman army, the number of men composing which differed at different times. It originally consisted of three thousand men, but in the time of Christ consisted of six thousand, exclusive of horsemen, who were in number a tenth of the foot-men. The word is used (Matt. 26:53; Mark 5:9) to express simply a great multitude.