Legion \Le"gion\ (l[=e]"j[u^]n), n. [OE. legioun, OF. legion, F. l['e]gion, 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.

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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)