Always in the study of various terms, those that have many interpretations are of greatest interest. League is just such a word. It is used in many areas of life and, accordingly, differs in each of them by its nuances. So let's learn what a league is in detail.
What is said in the dictionary
In order to present the greatest coverage of interpretations of the studied word, it is better to resort to the help of dictionaries, which we will do. The meaning of the word league is as follows:
- The union of a certain circle of persons, organizations or states. Example: “At the end of World War I, an organization such as the League of Nations was formed as a result of the development of the Versailles-Washington system of international relations.”
- In sports, a league is a group of teams that are approximately equal in skill and compete with each other. Example: “Yesterday’s game day was a record for the entire five-year history of the football league, it gathered the largest audience for the specified period.”
The word under study has other meanings that can be found in dictionaries, and we will consider them below.
Other values
About what a league is in other meanings, the dictionaries say the following:
- The name of the unit of length used in the United States and Great Britain, which is three miles. Example: "The robbers dropped a captive on the island when the boat sailed from the ship to the distance of one league."
- In musical notation, the term we study denotes a sign that looks like an arc. It is located above the notes and means that you need to play them legato, that is, together. Example: “After inaccurate handling, the music sheets were in a terrible state, so it was impossible to make out the league sign in some places.”
Synonyms
It seems that a better understanding of the meaning of the word “league” will help acquaintance with terms that are close to it in meaning. According to the information given in the corresponding dictionaries, there are plenty of them. Among them can be distinguished such as:
- an association;
- Group;
- union;
- a bunch of;
- community;
- association;
- Brotherhood;
- corporation;
- community;
- gang;
- artel;
- coalition;
- gang;
- caste;
- clique;
- a bunch;
- circle;
- camp;
- the consignment;
- a galaxy;
- sect.
However, a person in whom a linguistic vein beats, yielding to temptation, can continue to research the question of what a league is and find many more synonyms for the word under study in the dictionaries.
Other related words
The word "league" is:
- advice;
- collection;
- federation;
- shop;
- partnership;
- a circle;
- confederation;
- block;
- alliance;
- commonwealth;
- community;
- grouping;
- guild;
- collegium;
- commune;
- clan;
- detachment;
- army;
- conglomerate;
- collective.
There are others.
Etymology and phraseological units
In conclusion of the study of the question of what a league is, let us turn to its origin and give some of the phraseological units denoting the names of several well-known leagues that include the word under study.
According to etymologists, this word is borrowed from the French language in the XVIII century. There it looks like a ligue and literally means “union”. In French, it appeared, formed from the Italian noun liga. The latter, in turn, came from the Latin verb ligare, which translates as "unite, bind."
Among the stable phrases with the studied term can be identified:
- Ivy League;
- The Catholic League;
- League of Arab States;
- League of Nations;
- UEFA Champions League;
- League of Education.
Another well-known phrase with the object under consideration is the name of the story by A. Conan Doyle “League of Redheads”, which has another version of the name - “Union of Reds”. In this work, Sherlock Holmes manages to prevent the bank robbery of the famous criminal John Clay and his accomplice. Interestingly, the author himself put this story in second place from the 12 most beloved ones dedicated to him by the famous detective hero.