legionary

/ˈlidʒəˌnɛɹi/

//ˈlidʒəˌnɛɹi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"legionary" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“legionary” is uncommon English (frequency #90,656 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#90,656
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A soldier belonging to a legion; a professional soldier of the ancient Roman army.

Corpus desk

Index EN-legionary · legionary · English

legionary · rank #90,656 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #90,656
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH lege

Nearest frequency peer: lege (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “legionary”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “legionary” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for legionary
PropertyValue
Headwordlegionary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlidʒəˌnɛɹi/
Letters9
Frequency rank#90,656
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “legionary” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).legionaryfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “lege” (#90,655), “legitimation” (#90,657), “leavening” (#90,654). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “legionary” is #90,656. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

legionary is uncommon English at frequency #90,656 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈlidʒəˌnɛɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for legionary, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From legion + -ary. From Latin legiōnārius. Doublet of legionnaire. The correct English form is legionary, spelled L-E-G-I-O-N-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A soldier belonging to a legion; a professional soldier of the ancient Roman army.
  2. 2
    A person who is neither a citizen nor colonial/imperial subject of the state whose military they join.
  3. 3
    A member of a legion, such as the American Legion, or of any organization containing the term legion in its title (e.g. the French Foreign Legion).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how legionary appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Suddenly, [...] he saw all this as romantic — the last legionary, his aloneness, the lost cause really lost — and instinctively he pulled in his paunch, stroked down his hair to cover the naked part of the scalp, and wiped the sweat off his cheeks.

Etymology

From legion + -ary. From Latin legiōnārius. Doublet of legionnaire.

Synonyms

legionnaire

This word in other languages

legionario(Español)légionnaire(Français)Legionär(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "legionary"?
"legionary" is spelled L-E-G-I-O-N-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlidʒəˌnɛɹi/.
What does "legionary" mean?
As a noun, "legionary" means: A soldier belonging to a legion; a professional soldier of the ancient Roman army.
How do you pronounce "legionary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "legionary" is /ˈlidʒəˌnɛɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "legionary"?
From legion + -ary. From Latin legiōnārius. Doublet of legionnaire. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "legionary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

leavening#90,654leitmotif#90,658Lewistown#90,663lithology#90,667

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list