different between legend vs account

English

Etymology

From Middle English legende, from Old French legende, from Medieval Latin legenda (“a legend, story, especially the lives of the saints”), from Latin legenda (“things which ought to be read”), from lego (“I read”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l?d?.?nd/

Noun

legend (countable and uncountable, plural legends)

1. An unrealistic story depicting past events.
   1. A story of unknown origin describing plausible but extraordinary past events.

      Synonym: myth

   2. A plausible story set in the historical past, but whose historicity is uncertain.

   3. A story in which a kernel of truth is embellished to an unlikely degree.

      Synonyms: myth, tall tale

   4. A fabricated backstory for a spy, with associated documents and records.

      Synonym: cover story

      • 1992, Ronald Kessler, Inside the CIA, 1994 Pocket Books edition, ?ISBN, page 115:

        If the documents are needed to establish "a light legend," meaning a superficial cover story, no steps are taken to make sure that if someone calls the college or motor vehicle department, the name on the document will be registered.

      • 2003, Rodney Carlisle, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Spies and Espionage, Alpha Books, ?ISBN, page 105:

        Sorge solidified his own position by returning to Germany and developing a new legend. He joined the Nazi Party […] .

      • 2005, Curtis Peebles, Twilight Warriors, Naval Institute Press, ?ISBN, page 25:

        Both the agent's legend and documents were intended to stand up against casual questions from Soviet citizens, such as during a job interview, or a routine police document check, such as were made at railway stations.

2. A person related to a legend or legends.
   1. A leading protagonist in a historical legend.

      Synonym: hero

   2. A person with legend-like qualities, such as extraordinary accomplishment.
      1. (Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, colloquial, slang) A cool, nice or helpful person, especially one who is male.

         Synonym: brick

3. A key to the symbols and color codes on a map, chart, etc.

   Synonyms: guide, key

4. (numismatics, heraldry) An inscription, motto, or title, especially one surrounding the field in a medal or coin, or placed upon a heraldic shield or beneath an engraving or illustration.

   Synonym: inscription

5. A musical composition set to a poetical story.
6. (naval) The design and specification of a vessel.
   • 1929, Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers, Inc (page 304)

     The legend displacement on the basis then in use was 48,000 tons, the corresponding standard displacement as defined by the Washington Treaty being 47,540 tons.

   • 1976, Alan Raven, ?John Roberts, British Battleships of World War Two: The Development and Technical History of the Royal Navy's Battleships and Battlecruisers from 1911 to 1946 (page 63)

     The legend and sketch designs were submitted to the Board on 27th March 1916 and, after examining a model and the drawings, the Sea Lords generally favoured proposal 'B'; the extra weight involved being acceptable.

Derived terms

Related terms

• lege
• legendary

Translations

Verb

legend (third-person singular simple present legends, present participle legending, simple past and past participle legended)

1. (archaic, transitive) To tell or narrate; to recount.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Bishop Hall to this entry?)

Further reading

• legend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• legend in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Dutch

Pronunciation

Participle

legend

1. present participle of legen

Declension

Anagrams

• gelden, gleden, legden

German

Verb

legend

1. present participle of legen

Polish

Noun

legend

1. genitive plural of legenda

Swedish

Etymology

From Medieval Latin legenda

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le.?end/, [l?.???nd]

Noun

legend c

1. legend

Declension

References

legend in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• degeln

English

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?.?ka?nt/
• Rhymes: -a?nt
• Hyphenation: ac?count

Etymology 1

From Middle English account, acounte, accounten, from Anglo-Norman acunte (“account”), from Old French aconte, from aconter (“to reckon”), from Latin comput? (“to sum up”).

Noun

account (plural accounts)

1. (accounting) A registry of pecuniary transactions; a written or printed statement of business dealings or debts and credits, and also of other things subjected to a reckoning or review. [from c. 1300]
2. (banking) A bank account.
   • 1910, Journal of the American Bankers Association Vol. XI, No. 1, American Bankers Association, page 3:

     The Pueblo bank has advised that the operator opened an account at that bank with currency, and a few days later withdrew the amount.

3. A statement in general of reasons, causes, grounds, etc., explanatory of some event; a reason of an action to be done.

   Synonyms: accounting, explanation
4. A reason, grounds, consideration, motive; a person's sake.
5. A record of events; a relation or narrative. [from c. 1610]

   Synonyms: narrative, narration, relation, recital, report, description, explanation

   • 1657, James Howell, Londonopolis: An Historical Discourse or Perlustration of the City of London

     A laudible account of the city of London.
6. An estimate or estimation; valuation; judgment.
7. Importance; worth; value; esteem; judgement.
8. Authorization as a specific registered user in accessing a system.

   Synonyms: membership, registration

   Meronym: username

9. (archaic) A reckoning; computation; calculation; enumeration; a record of some reckoning.
10. Profit; advantage.

Usage notes

• Abbreviations: (business): A/C, a/c, acct., acc.
• Account, narrative, narration, recital are all words applied to different modes of rehearsing a series of events
  • Account turns attention not so much to the speaker as to the fact related, and more properly applies to the report of some single event, or a group of incidents taken as whole; for example, a vivid account of a battle, of a shipwreck, of an anecdote, etc.
  • A narrative is a continuous story of connected incidents, such as one friend might tell to another; for example, a narrative of the events of a siege, a narrative of one's life, the narrative of the film etc.
  • Narration is usually the same as narrative, but is sometimes used to describe the mode of relating events; as, his powers of narration are uncommonly great.
  • Recital denotes a series of events drawn out into minute particulars, usually expressing something which peculiarly interests the feelings of the speaker; such as, the recital of one's wrongs, disappointments, sufferings, etc, a piano recital (played without sheet music), a recital of a poem (learned by heart).

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Japanese: ????? (akaunto)
• ? Swahili: akaunti

Translations

Etymology 2

From Old French acounter, accomptere et al., from a- + conter (“to count”)). Compare count.

Verb

account (third-person singular simple present accounts, present participle accounting, simple past and past participle accounted)

1. To provide explanation.
   1. (obsolete, transitive) To present an account of; to answer for, to justify. [14th-17th c.]
   2. (intransitive, now rare) To give an account of financial transactions, money received etc. [from 14th c.]
   3. (transitive) To estimate, consider (something to be as described). [from 14th c.]

      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:deem

      • 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, III.8:

        The Pagan Hercules, why was he accounted a hero?

   4. (intransitive) To consider that. [from 14th c.]

      • Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

   5. (intransitive) To give a satisfactory evaluation for financial transactions, money received etc. [from 15th c.]

   6. (intransitive) To give a satisfactory evaluation for (one's actions, behaviour etc.); to answer for. [from 16th c.]

   7. (intransitive) To give a satisfactory reason for; to explain. [from 16th c.]

   8. (intransitive) To establish the location for someone. [from 19th c.]

   9. (intransitive) To cause the death, capture, or destruction of someone or something (+ for). [from 19th c.]
2. To count.
   1. (transitive, now rare) To calculate, work out (especially with periods of time). [from 14th c.]
      • 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica:

        neither the motion of the Moon, whereby moneths are computed; nor of the Sun, whereby years are accounted, consisteth of whole numbers, but admits of fractions, and broken parts, as we have already declared concerning the Moon.

   2. (obsolete) To count (up), enumerate. [14th-17th c.]
   3. (obsolete) To recount, relate (a narrative etc.). [14th-16th c.]
      • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.6:

        Long worke it were / Here to account the endlesse progeny / Of all the weeds that bud and blossome there [...].

Derived terms

Translations

Related terms

• accountable
• accountant

Further reading

• account on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• account (bookkeeping) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• account at OneLook Dictionary Search
• account in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English account.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??k?u?nt/
• Hyphenation: ac?count

Noun

account n (plural accounts, diminutive accountje n)

1. a subscription to an electronic service

Related terms

• accountant

Descendants

• ? Indonesian: akun

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English account. Doublet of conto.

Noun

account m (invariable)

1. (computing) account

   Synonym: conto

Further reading

• account in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana