legions

Legion, n. — Webster enters it under “legion”

Etymology: [OE. legioun, OF. legion, F. légion, fr. L. legio, fr. legere to gather, collect. See Legend.]

1. (Rom. Antiq.)

A body of foot soldiers and cavalry consisting of different numbers at different periods, -- from about four thousand to about six thousand men, -- the cavalry being about one tenth.

2. A military force; an army; military bands.

3. A great number; a multitude. Where one sin has entered,legions will force their way through the same breach. Rogers.

2 more senses

4. (Taxonomy)

A group of orders inferior to a class. Legion of honor, an order instituted by the French government in 1802, when Bonaparte was First Consul, as a reward for merit, both civil and military.

Shades of meaning

Fernald has no entry of its own for legions; he lists it under army.

Where he writes about it:

Legion (from the Latin) and phalanx (from the Greek) are applied by a kind of poetic license to modern forces; the plural legions is preferred to the singular. — from army

Synonyms

army armament array force forces host military multitude phalanx soldiers soldiery troops

Antonyms

none given

etymology Webster’s online