English Explanatory Dictionary

leg

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A limb or appendage that an animal uses for support or locomotion on land.
  2. In humans, the lower limb extending from the groin to the ankle.
  3. The portion of the lower limb of a human that extends from the knee to the ankle.
  4. A part of garment, such as a pair of trousers/pants, that covers a leg.
  5. A rod-like protrusion from an inanimate object, such as a piece of furniture, supporting it from underneath.
  6. Something that supports.
  7. A stage of a journey, race etc.
  8. A distance that a sailing vessel does without changing the sails from one side to the other.
  9. One side of a multiple-sided (often triangular) course in a sailing race.
  10. A single game or match played in a tournament or other sporting contest.
  11. One of the two sides of a right triangle that is not the hypotenuse.
  12. One of the two equal sides of an isosceles triangle.
verb
  1. To remove the legs from an animal carcass.
  2. To build legs onto a platform or stage for support.
  3. To put a series of three or more options strikes into the stock market.
  4. To apply force using the leg (as in 'to leg a horse').
noun
  1. Alternative spelling of leg..
adj
  1. Alternative spelling of leg..

Pronunciation

/ˈlɛɡ/ [ˈlɛɡ] En-uk-leg.ogg en-us-leg.ogg /ˈleɡ/ [ˈleɡ] en-au-leg.ogg /ˈleɪ̯ɡ/ [ˈleɪ̯ɡ]

Word forms

leg legs legge legging legged

Etymology

From Middle English leg, legge, from Old Norse leggr (“leg, calf, bone of the arm or leg, hollow tube, stalk”), from Proto-Germanic *lagjaz, *lagwijaz (“leg, thigh”) (see it for more). Cognate with Scots leg (“leg”), Icelandic leggur (“leg, limb”), Norwegian Bokmål legg (“leg”), Norwegian Nynorsk legg (“leg”), Swedish lägg (“leg, shank, shaft”), Danish læg (“leg”), Lombardic lagi (“thigh, shank, leg”), Latin lacertus (“limb, arm”), Persian لنگ (leng). Upon borrowing, mostly displaced the native Old English term sċanca (Modern English shank).

Synonyms

drumstick gam leg pant leg pantleg cathetus on leg up blackleg

Antonyms

off

Related words

ankle arm buttocks calf crus elbow foot hip joint knee lap limb shank shin thick thigh vertebra

Derived words

airleg a leg to stand on an arm and a leg base leg bootleg bowleg boyleg break a leg Cabriole leg change the leg chicken leg Cochin leg crooked as a dog's hind leg dead leg deadleg dead-leg deep square leg dogleg dog-leg don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining elephant leg factory leg fast leg theory fine leg first leg foreleg free leg gateleg get a leg up get one's leg over good leg hang a leg have a bone in one's leg have legs highleg hind leg hogleg hog leg hog's leg hollow leg inside leg interleg jake leg leg art leg bail Legbar legbeard leg before leg before wicket leg biter legbone leg break leg-breaker leg breaker leg bridge leg business leg bye legcuff leg cuff

Translations

Abkhaz: ашьапы Acehnese: gaki Afrikaans: been Ahom: 𑜁𑜡 Akan: nan Albanian: këmbë Gheg Albanian: kam Aleut: kudux̂ Southern Altai: бут Southern Altai: айак Amharic: እግር Arabic: رِجْل Arabic: سَاق Arabic: رجل Arabic: ريل Arabic: ساق Arabic: رِجِل Arabic: إجر Armenian: ոտք Aromanian: cicior Assamese: ভৰি Assamese: ঠেং Assamese: পাৱ Assamese: কদম Asturian: pierna Aymara: chara Azerbaijani: ayaq Balinese: cokor Bangi: lokolo Baruga: eka Bashkir: аяҡ Basque: hanka Basque: zango Belarusian: нага́ Bengali: পা Bengali: ঠেং Bhojpuri: पांव Central Bikol: tabay Boloki: lokolo Bouyei: gal Breton: gar Bulgarian: крак Bulgarian: нога́ Burmese: ခြေထောက် Buryat: хүл Carpathian Rusyn: но́га Catalan: cama Cebuano: bitiis Chamicuro: koselo Chavacano: pierna Chechen: ког Cherokee: ᎦᏅᏍᎨᏂ Chichewa: mwendo
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