Adjacent Words

League definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LEAGUE, n. leeg. [L. ligo, to bind.]
1. An alliance or confederacy between princes or states for their mutual aid or defense; a national contract or compact. A league may be offensive or defensive, or both. It is offensive, when the contracting parties agree to unite in attacking a common enemy; defensive, when the parties agree to act in concert in defending each other against an enemy.
2. A combination or union of two or more parties for the purpose of maintaining friendship and promoting their mutual interest, or for executing any design in concert.
And let there be 'twixt us and them no league, nor amity.
LEAGUE, v.i. leeg.
1. To unite, as princes or states in a contract of amity for mutual aid or defense; to confederate. Russia and Austria leagued to oppose the ambition of Buonaparte.
2. To unite or confederate, as private persons for mutual aid.
LEAGUE, n. leeg. [Low L. leuca.]
1. Originally, a stone erected on the public roads, at certain distances, in the manner of the modern mile-stones. Hence,
2. The distance between two stones. With the English and Americans, a league is the length of three miles; but this measure is chiefly at sea. The league on the continent of Europe, is very different among different nations. The Dutch and German league contains four geographical miles.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an association of sports teams that organizes matches for its members [syn: league, conference]
2: an association of states or organizations or individuals for common action
3: an obsolete unit of distance of variable length (usually 3 miles) v
1: unite to form a league

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English leuge, lege, from Late Latin leuga Date: 14th century 1. any of various units of distance from about 2.4 to 4.6 statute miles (3.9 to 7.4 kilometers) 2. a square league II. noun Etymology: Middle English (Scots) ligg, from Middle French ligue, from Old Italian liga, from ligare to bind, from Latin — more at ligature Date: 15th century 1. a. an association of nations or other political entities for a common purpose b. (1) an association of persons or groups united by common interests or goals (2) a group of sports teams that regularly play one another c. an informal alliance <in league with her sister> 2. class, category III. verb (leagued; leaguing) Date: 1604 transitive verb to unite in a league intransitive verb to form a league

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a collection of people, countries, groups, etc., combining for a particular purpose, esp. mutual protection or cooperation. 2 an agreement to combine in this way. 3 a group of sports clubs which compete over a period for a championship. 4 a class of contestants. --v.intr. (leagues, leagued, leaguing) (often foll. by together) join in a league. Phrases and idioms: in league allied, conspiring. league football Austral. Rugby League or Australian Rules football played in leagues. league table 1 a listing of competitors as a league, showing their ranking according to performance. 2 any list of ranking order. Etymology: F ligue or It. liga, var. of lega f. legare bind f. L ligare 2. n. archaic a varying measure of travelling-distance by land, usu. about three miles. Etymology: ME, ult. f. LL leuga, leuca, of Gaulish orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

League League, n. [Cf. OE. legue, lieue, a measure of length, F. lieue, Pr. lega, legua, It. & LL. lega, Sp. legua, Pg. legoa, legua; all fr. LL. leuca, of Celtic origin: cf. Arm. leo, lev (perh. from French), Ir. leige (perh. from English); also Ir. & Gael. leac a flag, a broad, flat stone, W. llech, -- such stones having perh. served as a sort of milestone (cf. Cromlech).] 1. A measure of length or distance, varying in different countries from about 2.4 to 4.6 English statute miles of 5.280 feet each, and used (as a land measure) chiefly on the continent of Europe, and in the Spanish parts of America. The marine league of England and the United States is equal to three marine, or geographical, miles of 6080 feet each. Note: The English land league is equal to three English statute miles. The Spanish and French leagues vary in each country according to usage and the kind of measurement to which they are applied. The Dutch and German leagues contain about four geographical miles, or about 4.6 English statute miles. 2. A stone erected near a public road to mark the distance of a league. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

League League, n. [F. ligue, LL. liga, fr. L. ligare to bind; cf. Sp. liga. Cf. Ally a confederate, Ligature.] An alliance or combination of two or more nations, parties, or persons, for the accomplishment of a purpose which requires a continued course of action, as for mutual defense, or for furtherance of commercial, religious, or political interests, etc. And let there be 'Twixt us and them no league, nor amity. --Denham. Note: A league may be offensive or defensive, or both; offensive, when the parties agree to unite in attacking a common enemy; defensive, when they agree to a mutual defense of each other against an enemy. The Holy League, an alliance of Roman Catholics formed in 1576 by influence of the Duke of Guise for the exclusion of Protestants from the throne of France. Solemn League and Covenant. See Covenant,2. The land league, an association, organized in Dublin in 1879, to promote the interests of the Irish tenantry, its avowed objects being to secure fixity of tenure fair rent, and free sale of the tenants' interest. It was declared illegal by Parliament, but vigorous prosecutions have failed to suppress it. Syn: Alliance; confederacy; confederation; coalition; combination; compact; co["o]peration.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

League League, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Leagued; p. pr. & vb. n. Leaguing.] [Cf. F. se liguer. See 2d League.] To unite in a league or confederacy; to combine for mutual support; to confederate. --South.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

League League, v. t. To join in a league; to cause to combine for a joint purpose; to combine; to unite; as, common interests will league heterogeneous elements.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(leagues) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A league is a group of people, clubs, or countries that have joined together for a particular purpose, or because they share a common interest. ...the League of Nations. ...the World Muslim League. N-COUNT: oft in names 2. A league is a group of teams that play the same sport or activity against each other. ...the American League series between the Boston Red Sox and World Champion Oakland Athletics... The club are on the brink of promotion to the Premier League. N-COUNT 3. You use the word league to make comparisons between different people or things, especially in terms of their quality. Her success has taken her out of my league... Their record sales would put them in the same league as The Rolling Stones. N-COUNT: with supp 4. If you say that someone is in league with another person to do something bad, you mean that they are working together to do that thing. There is no evidence that the broker was in league with the fraudulent vendor... PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, oft PHR with n

Easton's Bible Dictionary

a treaty or confederacy. The Jews were forbidden to enter into an alliance of any kind (1) with the Canaanites (Ex. 23:32, 33; 34:12-16); (2) with the Amalekites (Ex. 17:8, 14; Deut. 25:17-19); (3) with the Moabites and Ammonites (Deut. 2:9, 19). Treaties were permitted to be entered into with all other nations. Thus David maintained friendly intercourse with the kings of Tyre and Hamath, and Solomon with the kings of Tyre and Egypt.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

leg.

See CONFEDERACY.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Alliance, confederation, confederacy, combination, coalition, union. 2. Three (geographical) miles. II. v. n. Unite, combine, confederate, band, form a league, form an alliance.

Moby Thesaurus

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