SOURCE 01supportshistorical dictionary
Legend — Word History
Records the historical senses while leaving the exact cultural mechanism of the shift open.
Etymology and senses- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
PERMANENT DISPUTE RECORD
ALL DISPUTES ↗CLAIM / COUNTERCLAIM / LIMITRECORD 24
DISPUTE
RECORD.
One scholarly question. Every attached source. The present editorial state, without pretending the last word has been written.
openprobable
Why did appointed readings become unverifiable stories?
Association with saints’ lives and inherited narratives supplies the historical environment, but the semantic expansion was gradual rather than one datable pivot.
WORD UNDER REVIEWDISPUTE 24
legend
/ˈlɛdʒənd/ · noun
A traditional story or explanatory inscription, descended from Latin “things to be read.”
01
DIRECT CLAIM EVIDENCE
1 SOURCES WITH A STANCE
A citation is not a vote. Each record says whether the work supports, challenges, contradicts, or contextualizes the position—and identifies the exact locus used.
02 / EDITORIAL STATE
THE QUESTION REMAINS OPEN.
- CONFIDENCE
- probable
- STATUS
- open
- LEGACY SOURCE SUMMARY
- Historical lexicography
The reviewed evidence does not yet warrant collapsing the competing or incomplete analyses into one secure answer.