English
legionary
Legionary comes from Latin legiōnārius ‘legionary, of or pertaining to a legion’, from legō ‘to choose’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-1‘to gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵeti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legō1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō2‘to choose’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegiō3‘legion’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegiōnārius4‘legionary, of or pertaining to a legion’
- Englishearliest quotation 1959legionary4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin lego
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin legio
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin legionarius
- 4 Wiktionary, English legionary
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy): “Suddenly, [...] he saw all this as romantic —…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-Wiktionary, Latin lego‘to gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵetiWiktionary, Latin legoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legōWiktionary, Latin legoreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegōWiktionary, Latin legio‘to choose’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegiōWiktionary, Latin legionarius‘legion’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegiōnāriusWiktionary, English legionary‘legionary, of or pertaining to a legion’
- Englishearliest quotation 1959legionaryWiktionary, English legionary. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy): “Suddenly, [...] he saw all this as romantic —…”
Formed from legion + -ary
Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather’
…
Proto-Italic *legō
Latin legō ‘to gather, collect’
Latin legiō ‘a legion’
Old French legion
English legion
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather’
technology, collect, logic, apology, catalogue, trilogy, terminology, sociology, pathology, analogy, logos, physiology, astrology, prologue, epilogue, monologue, leach, eulogy, pathologist, cosmology, logistic, etymology, epistemology, archaeologist, entomology, lexical, homologous, lexicon, gynecologist, dialectic, lignite, lignin, etiology, alexia, lexis, bacteriology, apologia, syllogism, bacteriologist, 153 more
through Proto-Italic *legō
intelligence, intelligent, intellectual, selection, ineligible, elector, 19 more
through Latin legō ‘to choose’
college, election, collection, elite, select, collective, lesson, legend, legacy, eligible, lecture, colleague, elect, collector, coil, elegant, negligence, delegate, delegation, diligent, negligent, collegiate, negligible, cull, lectern, legible, legate, lector, ineligibility, legation, collegium, 24 more
Today it means
noun A soldier belonging to a legion; a professional soldier of the ancient Roman army.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “legionary”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin lego, Latin legio, Latin legionarius. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / legionary