legionary
/ˈliːdʒənəɹi/US/ˈlidʒəˌnɛɹi/
legionary noun: a soldier belonging to a legion; a professional soldier of the ancient Roman army.
Noun (1)
legionary (plural legionaries)
- A soldier belonging to a legion; a professional soldier of the ancient Roman army.
- Suddenly, [...] he saw all this as romantic — the last legionary, his aloneness, the lost cause really lost — and instinctively he pulled in his paunch, stroked down his hair to cover the naked part of the scalp, and wiped the sweat off his cheeks.1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 425
- A person who is neither a citizen nor colonial/imperial subject of the state whose military they join.
- A member of a legion, such as the American Legion, or of any organization containing the term legion in its title (e.g. the French Foreign Legion).
- Synonyms:
- legionnaire
Adjective
legionary (not comparable)
- Relating to, or consisting of, a legion or legions.
- a legionary force
- Containing a great number.
- Unto whom (what is deplorable in men and Christians) too many applying themselves, betwixt jest and earnest, betray the cause of truth, and insensibly make up the legionary body of error.1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica (aka, Vulgar Errours), Google Books
Noun (2) capitalized: Legionary
Legionary (plural Legionaries)
- a member of the Legion of Christ, a Roman Catholic religious institute
legionary meaning in Tamil
legionary in Tamil
- படை சார்ந்த
Synonyms of legionary
Forms of legionary
| plural | legionaries |
|---|---|
| plural | Legionaries |
Origin of legionary
From legion + -ary. From Latin legiōnārius. Doublet of legionnaire.
Words formed from legionary
Phrases with legionary
Questions about legionary
- What does legionary mean?
- Legionary means a soldier belonging to a legion; a professional soldier of the ancient Roman army.
- What is legionary in Tamil?
- Legionary in Tamil is படை சார்ந்த. See Legionary meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is legionary?
- Legionary can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce legionary?
- Legionary is pronounced /ˈlidʒəˌnɛɹi/ (US).
- What is the plural of legionary?
- The plural of legionary is legionaries.
Words near legionary in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: legionary (page history and authors); Legionary (page history and authors); legionary (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-legionary.wav.
Cite this entry: “legionary.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/legionary. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.