leg

pronunciation

How to pronounce leg in British English: UK [leɡ] word uk audio image

How to pronounce leg in American English: US [leɡ] word us audio image

Noun:

a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part between the knee and ankle
a structure in animals that is similar to a human leg and used for locomotion
one of the supports for a piece of furniture
a part of a forked or branching shape
the limb of an animal used for food
a prosthesis that replaces a missing leg
cloth covering consisting of the part of a garment that covers the leg
(nautical) the distance traveled by a sailing vessel on a single tack
a section or portion of a journey or course

Word Origin

leg: leg: [13] Shank was the word used in Old English for ‘leg’. Not until the late 13th was leg acquired, from Old Norse leggr. It goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *lagjaz, which may ultimately come from a source that meant ‘bend’. No other Germanic language any longer uses it for ‘leg’, but Swedish and Danish retain lägg and læg respectively for ‘calf’.

leg (n.): late 13c., from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse leggr "leg, bone of the arm or leg," from Proto-Germanic *lagjaz, with no certain ulterior connections, perhaps from a PIE root meaning "to bend" [Buck]. Compare German Bein "leg," in Old High German "bone, leg." Replaced Old English shank. Of furniture supports from 1670s. The meaning "a part or stage of a journey or race" (1920) is from earlier sailing sense of "a run made on a single tack" (1867), which was usually qualified as long leg, short leg, etc. Slang phrase shake a leg "dance" is attested from 1881. To be on (one's) last legs "at the end of one's life" is from 1590s.

leg (v.): "to use the legs; walk or run," c. 1500 (from the beginning usually with it); from leg (n.).