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Legend comes from the Latin adjective legenda, "for reading, to be read," which referred only to written stories, not to traditional stories transmitted orally from generation to generation. This restriction also applied to the English word legend when it was first used in the late 14th century in reference to written accounts of saints' lives, but ever since the 15th century legend has been used to refer to traditional stories as well. Today a legend can also be a person or achievement worthy of inspiring such story anyone or anything whose fame promises to be enduring, even if the renown is created more by the media than by oral tradition. Thus we speak of the legendary accomplishments of a major-league baseball star or the legendary voice of a famous opera singer. This usage is common journalistic hyperbole, and 55 percent of the Usage Panel accepts it.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Available from: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=legend [January 16, 2006]

The best sources for locating information on Legendary People are:

• Gale
  • Biography Resource Center
    • Change search to "start of last name"

• Grolier
  • Search in all encyclopedias

Other Recommended Websites:

• Discovery School Women of the Century
• Biography on A&E
• Information Please Biography
• Internet Sacred Text Archive
  Collection of electronic texts of myths, legends, and folktales from around the world, provided by the Internet Sacred Text Archive. Also includes accounts of religious practices and rites.
• Inuit Myth and Legend
  Article on Inuit (Eskimo) mythology and legends, from a multidisciplinary online encyclopedia of Canada created by the charitable Historical Foundation of Canada.
• NOVA Online : The Beast of Loch Ness
  Interactive companion site to 'Nova' program originally aired in January 1999 that follows a three-week expedition to track down a mysterious creature. Features audio and video clips, origins of the legend, and eyewitness accounts.