The Russian language is famous for its speech, the meaning of which is difficult to understand without a dictionary at hand. Say, where did the winged expression “Their Name is Legion” come from? The meaning of phraseologism can hardly be understood without knowing the history of its appearance in the Russian language. So, where did it come from and how to use it correctly in colloquial and written speech?
What is a legion?
What is the meaning of the catch phrase “their name is legion”? The meaning of phraseologism is easier to understand by understanding the meaning of the word "legion". Not everyone knows that we inherited it from the ancient Romans, appeared before the advent of our era. Indeed, it was in ancient Rome that a large military unit was usually called the legion. The number of such units could be approximately three to four thousand soldiers. There were very large legions with up to ten thousand soldiers.
And here is the phraseological phrase “Their Name is Legion”? The meaning of phraseology is still unclear. However, the word "legion" gradually began to be used not only to refer to army units. People began to use it in colloquial and written language, implying a myriad of something. Moreover, most often it was used in a negative way.
“Their name is Legion”: the meaning of phraseology, its origin
Everything is clear with the word "legion", but where did the expression that is considered in this article come from? There is a biblical parable, which also cannot be ignored, talking about what the expression “their name is legion” means. The meaning of phraseology is directly related to this legend, transmitted from generation to generation.
This is a story about a man who lived in an ancient state located on the eastern shore of Lake Galilee. This man was obsessed with demons. Those who met him did not doubt that he had lost his mind. Once this man met Jesus and the disciples who followed him. The Savior inquired of his name, to which he received the answer: "My name is a legion." The unfortunate implied that thousands of demons invaded him, which cannot be listed by name, since their name is a legion.
Of course, the good Jesus decided to help the obsessed man and cast out demons forever. However, they begged him to allow them to inhabit the pigs that grazed nearby. The Savior allowed them to do this, after which the whole herd rushed off a cliff into the sea and found its death in the water. The disciple of Christ assures that there were about two thousand drowned pigs.
What does phraseologism mean?
Now the origin of the mysterious speech turn “Their Name is Legion” no longer seems an insoluble mystery. The meaning of phraseologism is the expression “myriad”, as it was back in ancient Rome.
Of course, this stable design can be used not only in relation to evil spirits. It can always be used when it comes to something, which is very much, and not just for counting demons that have mastered the human body. Often an expression comes to the rescue when a person wants to say that there is too much something, in this case a negative meaning is put into it.
In literary works
How to remember the history of the origin of the expression “their name is Legion”, the meaning of phraseology? What is “countless numbers”? The meaning of speech circulation can forever be remembered thanks to examples borrowed from literature. For example, the writer Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov uses this catch phrase in his work “Cliff”. One of the heroes reproaches the other for the fact that such artists as he are a great many, using the phraseology we are considering.
In what other works does the expression “their name is legion” occur? The meaning of phraseology (what legion is - we already know) is better to remember if you turn to the collection of "Critical articles" by Dostoevsky. Fedor Mikhailovich uses this very vivid speech turn when he complains about the huge number of imitators trying to copy Gogol's style. The author claims that there have been a myriad of plays that are just a miserable parody of the famous “Examiner”.
Synonyms and Antonyms
So, now it’s clear where it came from and when the expression “their Name is Legion” is used. The meaning of phraseology is known, so you can choose synonyms for it. There are many speech turns that can be replaced without any harm to the meaning. Say, you can use the winged expression "above the head", "above the roof." The stable constructions “have nowhere to go,” “have no numbers,” “like stars in the sky,” are perfectly suited in meaning. Of course, you can use simple words, for example, "fully", "many."
Obviously, it is easy to choose the antonyms: "little", "a little", "a little bit" and so on.