leger 
called added line. Leger space, in musical notation, a 
space between leger lines. The leger spaces are numbered 
from the staff both upward and tf c.,n4 , e aboTe 
downward. Also called added nm !,, .^ .bo,, 
space. 
legerdemain (lej"er-de- 
man'), . [Early mod. - _j7tS, . ,,,,,. 
E. legerdemdine, legierde- *'' iv >>"* i" 1 "- 
mayne, leygier demaine, lieger du maine,(. F. leger 
dc main, light of hand : leger, light (see leger'l, 
a.); de, < L. de, of; main, < L. mantis, hand: see 
main 3 .] Sleight of hand; a deceptive per- 
formance or trick which depends on dexterity 
of hand; fallacious adroitness, trickery, or de- 
ception generally. 
Perceiue theyr leygier demaine, wyth which they would 
iugle forth thir falshood and shift the trouth asyde. 
Sir T. More, Works, p. 813. 
He in slights and jugling feates did flow, 
And of legierdemayne the mysteries did know. 
Spenser, F. Q., V. ix. 13. 
The gypsies were then to divide all the money that had 
been got that week, either by stealing linen or poultry, or 
by fortune-telling or legerdemain. 
I. Walton, Complete Angler, p. 112. 
To make it ground of accusation against a class of men 
that they are not patriotic is the most vulgar legerdemain 
of sophistry. Macaulay, Civil Disabilities of the Jews. 
legerdemainist (lej"er-de-ma'nist), n. [< leger- 
demain + -ist.] One who practises legerde- 
main ; a juggler ; a trickster. 
legeringt, n. [< legcrl, ledger*, n., 4, + -ingl.] 
See the quotation, and ledger^, n., 4. 
The law of legering, which is a deceit that colliers abuse 
the commonwealth withall in having unlawful sackes. 
Greene, Discovery of Coosnage (1591). 
legerity (le-jer'i-ti), . [< OF. legerite (F. lege- 
rete), lightness, < leger, light: 
ness; nimbleness. 
1. 
the 
; see leger^.] Light- 
[Rare.] 
When the mind is quicken'd, out of doubt, 
The organs, though defunct and dead before, 
Break up their drowsy grave, and newly move 
With casted slough and fresh legerity. 
Shak., Hen. V., IT. 1. 23. 
leges, n. Plural of lex. 
legestert, A variant of legister. 
Iegge 1 t, v. A Middle English form of lay*. 
Iegge 2 t, n. A Middle English form of leg. 
Iegge 3 t, *> t. An aphetic form of allege 2 . 
legged (leg'ed or legd), a. [< leg + -ed 2 .] 
Having legs: often in composition: as, 
legged maple-borer; a two-legged animal. 
What have we here? a man or a flsh? . . . Legged like 
a man ! Shak. , Tempest, ii. 2. 36. 
A fine clean corse he is : I would have him buried, 
Even as he lies, CTOBA-legg'd, like one o' the Templars. 
Beau, and Fl., Captain, ii. 2. 
2. In her., having legs, as a bird, of a different 
tincture from the body. 
legget (leg'et), n. [Cf. ligget, lidget.] A kind 
of tool used by reed-thatchers. [Local, Eng.] 
leggiadro (le-ja'dro), adv. [It., pretty, light, < 
leggiero, light: see leger 2 .] In music, a direc- 
tion that the music to which the word is ap- 
pended is to be performed gaily or briskly. 
leggiadroust (lej-i-ad'rus), a. [< It. leggiadro, 
pretty, graceful: see leggiadro.] Graceful; 
pleasing. 
Yet this Retirement's cloud ne'r overcast 
Those beams of leggiadrous courtesy 
Which smild in her deportment. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, xviii. 
leggiero (le-ja'ro), o. and adv. [It., light: see 
leger%.] In music, in a light, easy, rapid manner, 
without emphasizing single tones : usually ap- 
plied to a decorative or episodical passage. 
leggin 1 (leg'in), n. [Also laggen, laggin, lagen : 
see ledge^7\ The rim of a cask. [Scotch.] 
leggin 2 (leg'in), n. See legging. 
legging (leg'ing), n. [< leg + -ing 1 .'] An out- 
er and extra covering for the leg, usually for 
cold weather or rough traveling, it commonly has 
the form of a long gaiter extending lo the knee, but for 
special purposes and sometimes for children to the thigh. 
Often pronounced and sometimes written leggin. 
He was dressed in deer-skin leggings, 
Fringed with hedgehog quills and ermine. 
Longfellow, Hiawatha, xi. 
leggism (leg'izm), n. [< leg (blackleg) + -ism.] 
The character or practices of a leg or blackleg. 
Blackwood's Mag. [Slang.] 
leggy (leg'i), a. [< leg + -yi.] Long-legged; 
having disproportionately long and generally 
lank legs. 
Bobby frequents the Union-Jack club, where you behold 
Slapper's long-tailed leggy mare in the custody of a red- 
jacket. Thackeray, Book of Snobs, x. 
Like her great grand-dam, Fleur-de-lis, she stood full 
sixteen hands, but was neither leggy nor light of bone. 
Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 205. 
leght, n. A Middle English form of lea*. 
3402 
leg-harness (leg'har'nes), n. In medieval armor, 
the defenses of the legs and thighs. Hewitt. 
leghet. A Middle English form of lie^. 
leghorn (leg'hdrn), re. and a. [So called from 
Leghorn, F. Livaunie = Sp. Uorna = Pg. Li- 
onie, < It. Lioorno, < L. Libwnus, Gr. Ai/Jotywoc 
(Ptolemy), a sea-port in Tuscany.] I. n. I. 
A fine kind of plait for bonnets and hats 
made in Tuscany from the straw of a pecu- 
liar variety of wheat, Triticum vulgarc (turgi- 
dum), thickly sown, cut green, and bleached: 
so named because exported from Leghorn. 
2. A bonnet or hat made of this material. 
3. [cap.] An important breed of the common 
domestic fowl, of the Spanish type, character- 
ized by great activity and rather small size, 
high, serrated comb, drooping to one side in 
the hen, and white ear-lobes. The chief varieties 
are the brmm (colored like black-breasted red games), 
and the white, dominujue or cuckoo, and black Leghorns, 
all but the last having yellow legs and beak. The Leg- 
horns are noted as being perhaps the most prolific layers 
of all poultry. 
II. a. Pertaining to or brought from the city 
of Leghorn ; also, made of or relating to Leg- 
horn straw : as, a Leghorn bonnet or hat Leg- 
horn plait, a braid of Leghorn straw, from which bon- 
nets and hats are made. The upper joint of the stem is 
used. Leghorn Straw, the straw of a variety of wheat, 
Triticum vulgare, sometimes considered a distinct species 
with the name T. turgidum. 
legiancet (le'jaus), . [Also legeance, ligeance, 
liegeance, < Mfi. legiance, legeaunce, etc., legeans, 
ligaunce, etc.,<OF. ligeance, ligeaunce, liegeance, 
ligance,ete.: see allegiance.] Same as allegiance. 
God forbid, but ech were others brother, 
Of one ligeance due vnto the king. 
Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 199. 
So also of a man that is abjured the realme ; for notwith- 
standing the abjuration, he oweth the king his legeance, 
and remaineth within the kings protection. 
it . Dalian, Country Justice (1820). 
legibility (lej-i-bil'i-ti), n. [< legible : see -bil- 
ity.] Capability of being read ; legibleness. 
His {Lamb's] badinage on his sister's handwriting was in 
jest. It was remarkable for its perfect legibility. 
Talfourd, Memoirs of Lamb. 
legible (lej'i-bl), a. [= Sp. legible = Pg. legi- 
vel, < LL. legibilis. legible, < L. legere, read: 
see legend.] 1. That may be read; written 
plainly or in intelligible characters : as, a legi- 
ble manuscript. 
Let me receive no more Gibberish or Hieroglyphics from 
you, but legible Letters. Howell, Letters, I. v. 28. 
The old gate [of the convent of Mount Sinai] now built 
up is on the west side ; there is some sign of a Greek in- 
scription over it, but such as I believe would not be legible, 
if any one could come near it. 
Pococke, Description of the East, 1. 149. 
Hence 2. That may be discovered or dis- 
cerned by marks or indications. 
People's opinions of themselves are legible in their coun- 
tenances. Jeremy Collier. 
= Svn. Readable, recognizable, plain, manifest. 
legibleness (lej'i-bl-nes), . The quality or 
state of being legible ; legibility. 
legibly (lej'i-bli), adv. In a legible manner; 
so as to be read without difficulty : as, a manu- 
script legibly written. 
legiert, n. and a. See ledger^. 
legierdemainet, re. See legerdemain. 
legio (le'ji-6), re.; pi. legiones^ (le-ji-6'nez). [L.: 
see legion."] In zool., a legion. 
legion (le'jon), re. [< ME. legiun, legioun, le- 
gion, < OF. legion, F. legion = Sp. legion = Pg. 
legiSo = It. legione = Gr. teye&v, 'keyiiw, < L. le- 
gio(n-), a Roman legion, < legere, gather, select, 
= Gr. Aiyeiv, collect: see legend.] 1. In Bom. 
antiq., a body of infantry not corresponding ex- 
actly to either the regiment or the army-corps of 
modern times, composed of different numbers of 
men at different periods, from 3,000 under the 
kings to over 6,000 under Marius, usually com- 
bined with a considerable proportion of cavalry. 
The ancient legion had 300 horse, and that of Marius about 
700. Each legion was divided into ten cohorts, each co- 
hort into three maniples, and each maniple into two cen- 
turies. The great power of the Roman legion was due to its 
rigid discipline and its tactical formation in battle, which 
was so open and flexible as to enable it to meet every 
emergency without surprise or derangement. It thus pre- 
sented a strong contrast on the one hand to the unwieldy 
solidity of the Greek phalanx, and on the other to the 
confused and undisciplined state of other armies of the 
time. Compare maniple. 
Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe. 
Shak., J. C., iv. 3. 215. 
2. In French hist., one of numerous military bod- 
ies so called at different periods. Foreign legions 
were employed by the kings from medieval times. A num- 
ber of them were formed during the Revolution and under 
the first empire, of which one was maintained till a recent 
period. This body, called specifically the legion, made 
itself famous in Algiers and in the Crimea. There were 
also provincial legions in the sixteenth century. 
legislative 
A soldier of the legion lay dying in Algiers. 
Mrs. Sorton, Bingen on the Rhine. 
3. Any distinct military force or organization 
comparable to the Roman legion. 
I myself beheld the King 
Charge at the head of all his Table Round, 
And all his legions crying Christ and him. 
Tennyson, Lancelot and Elaine. 
4. An extraordinary number; a great multi- 
tude. 
My name is Legion : for we are many. Mark v. 9. 
Where one sin has entered, legions will force their way 
through the same breach. Rogers. 
5. In zoiil., a large group or series of animals, 
of indeterminate taxonomic rank, but generally 
of high grade. In Haeckel's system, for example, the 
legion intervenes between the subclass and the order, and 
corresponds to what is usually called a supernrder. Le- 
gion Of Honor, in France, an order of distinction and re- 
ward for civil and military services, instituted in May, 1802, 
during the consulate, by Napoleon Bonaparte, but since 
modified from time to time in important particulars. Un- 
der the first empire the distinctions conferred invested the 
person decorated with the rank of legionary, officer, com- 
mander, grand-officer, or grand-cross. The order holds 
considerable property, the proceeds of which are paid out 
in pensions, principally to wounded and disabled members. 
The Thundering Legion, in Christian tradition, the 
name given to a legion of Christians in the army of Marcus 
Aurelius, in battle with the Quadi, whose prayers for rain 
were answered, according to the tradition, by a thunder- 
shower, which refreshed the thirsty Romans, while it de- 
stroyed numbers of the enemy by lightning. 
legion (le'jon), v. t. [< legion, n.] To enroll 
or form into a legion. 
We met the vultures, legioned in the air, 
Stemming the torrent of the tainted wind. 
Shelley, Hellas. 
legionary (le'jon-a-ri), a. and re. [= F. legion- 
naire = Sp. Pg. It. legionario, < L. legionariiis, 
belonging to a legion, < legio(n-), a Roman le- 
gion: see legion.] I. a. 1. Pertaining to or con- 
sisting of a legion or legions : as, legionary dis- 
cipline; a legionary soldier; a legionary force. 
2. Containing a great number. 
Too many applying themselves betwixt jest and earnest 
make up the leyionary body of errour. Sir T. Browne. 
II. n.; pi. legionaries (-riz). 1. One of a le- 
gion ; especially, a Roman soldier belonging to 
a legion or a subaltern member of the Legion 
of Honor. 2. The neuter of a kind of red ant : 
so named by Huber. It is probably the neuter 
of Polycrgus rufesceiw, a slave-making species, 
legiones, n. Plural of legio. 
legionize (le'jon-Iz), v. t.; pret. and pp. legion- 
ized, ppr. legionizing. [< legion + -fee.] To form 
in a legion. 
Descend, sweet Angels, legioniifd in rankes. 
Dames, Holy Roode, p. 28. 
leg-iron (leg'i"ern), re. 1. A fetter for the leg. 
Dickens, Great Expectations, xvi. 2. In car- 
building, a wrought-iron forging attached to the 
sole-bar, and supporting the foot-boards. 
legislate (lej'is-lat), v.; pret. and pp. legislated, 
ppr. legislating. [A back formation (like Pg. 
Ugislar) from legislator, legislation, etc., q. v.] 
I. intrans. To exercise the function of legisla- 
tion; make or enact a law or laws. 
II. trans. To act upon or effect by means of 
legislation; determine by enactment: as, to 
legislate a man out of office (as by abolishing 
the office or changing its tenure) ; to legislate a 
corporation into existence. [U. S.] 
legislation (lej-is-la'shon), re. [= F. legislation 
= Sp. legislacion = Pgl legislayao = It. legisla- 
zione, < L. legis latio(n-), a proposing of a law : 
legis, gen. of lex, law (see legal); latio(n-), a 
bearing, proposing : see lotion.] 1. The enact- 
ing of laws or statutes ; the exercise of the pow- 
er of legislating ; the business of a legislator or a 
legislature. 2. The product of legislative ac- 
tion ; a law or the laws promulgated by a legis- 
lator or a legislature ; a statute, or a body of 
statutory law: as, the legislation of Moses is 
contained in the Pentateuch. class legislation, 
that legislation which affects the interests of a particular 
class of persons. General legislation, that legislation 
which is applicable throughout the state generally, as dis- 
tinguished from special legislation, which affects only par- 
ticular persons or localities Local legislation. See 
local. 
legislative (lej'is-la-tiv), a. and n. [= F. legis- 
latif= Sp. Pg. It. legislative ; as legislate + -ire.] 
1. a. 1. Pertaining to or resulting from legisla- 
tion ; ordained by a legislator or a legislature ; 
having statutory force or quality: as, legislative 
proceedings; a legislative prohibition. 
The poet io a kind of lawgiver, and those qualities are 
proper to the legislative style. Drydcn. 
2. Having power to legislate ; enacting or ut- 
tering laws; lawmaking: as, a legislative body; 
authority. 3. Of or "belonging to a 
