# leg

Pronunciation: say "LEG" /lɛɡ/

## Noun

1. One of the limbs that a person or animal stands and walks on; in people, the part from the hip to the foot.
   - Simple: One of the long parts of the body that a person or animal uses to stand and walk.
   - _He injured his right leg during the marathon._
   - _The dancer's legs were strong from years of training._
2. One stage or section of a journey, race, or course, including one stretch of a sailing course.
   - Simple: One part of a trip, race, or course, such as one stretch of a sailing race.
   - _The final leg of the relay decided the championship._
   - _Their flight had three legs, with stops in two countries._
3. A rod-like support extending downward from a piece of furniture or similar object to hold it up.
   - Simple: A long support that holds up furniture like a table or chair.
   - _A wooden leg snapped off the old desk during the move._
   - _The stool's legs were carved with intricate patterns._
4. A limb that an animal or bird stands on, cooked and eaten as meat, or a cut of meat taken from one.
   - Simple: An animal's or bird's leg cooked and eaten as meat, or a piece of meat cut from it.
   - _The butcher boned and rolled the leg so it would roast evenly._
   - _Brown the duck legs in a hot pan before putting them in the oven._
5. The section of a garment, such as a pair of pants, that covers a leg.
   - Simple: The part of pants that covers one leg.
   - _She tore the left leg of her pants on a nail._
   - _The tailor shortened both legs of the suit._
6. A single game or match played as one part of a tournament or larger contest.
   - Simple: One game or match in a larger competition.
   - _The home side dominated the opening leg but collapsed in the return match._
   - _Away goals from the two legs decided the tie._
7. Enough physical strength and endurance to go on walking, running, or playing, especially in sports, as in "fresh legs".
   - Simple: The strength and energy to keep walking, running, or playing, especially in sports.
   - _At thirty-six, the striker no longer has the legs to play a full ninety minutes every week._
   - _With fresh legs off the bench, the Hawks outran their tired opponents in the fourth quarter._
8. The portion of the human lower limb that extends from the knee down to the ankle.
   - Simple: The part of your leg between your knee and your ankle.
   - _Anatomists separate the thigh, which holds the femur, from the leg, which holds the tibia and fibula._
   - _Strictly speaking, the calf muscles are in the leg, while the hamstrings are in the thigh._
9. The capacity of something to last, persist, or remain successful over a long period.
   - Simple: The power of something to keep going or stay popular for a long time.
   - _The franchise proved it had legs, drawing crowds for over a decade._
   - _Critics doubted the trend had legs, but it persisted for years._
10. A part or factor that supports or sustains something larger, treated as one of its bases.
   - Simple: One of the main things that holds something up or keeps it going.
   - _Manufacturing remained a vital leg of the national economy._
   - _The strategy rested on three legs: research, sales, and support._
11. Any of the long, slender arms or branches of something that forks, bends at an angle, or curves into a U, such as a compass or a tuning fork.
   - Simple: One of the long, thin arms of an object that splits in two or bends, like a compass or a tuning fork.
   - _Spread the legs of the compass to the width of the circle's radius._
   - _One leg of the horseshoe magnet had rusted where it touched the damp shelf._
12. In geometry, either of the two sides of a right triangle other than the hypotenuse, either equal side of an isosceles triangle, or either non-parallel side of a trapezoid.
   - Simple: In math, one of the two sides of a triangle that meet at the right angle or are equal.
   - _In a right triangle, the hypotenuse is always longer than either leg._
   - _Knowing one leg and the hypotenuse, she found the other side._
13. An individual bet forming one part of a parlay, a combined wager that carries stake and winnings forward.
   - Simple: One single bet that is part of a bigger combined bet.
   - _One losing leg sank the entire parlay._
   - _She added a fifth leg to boost the potential payout._
14. In cricket, the half of the field nearest the batsman's legs as he takes his stance, which is the left side for a right-hander.
   - Simple: In cricket, the side of the field on the same side as the batter's legs.
   - _The batsman clipped the delivery off his pads to leg._
   - _Two fielders patrolled the leg boundary._
15. A boost up provided by forming a step for someone's foot with one's cupped hands.
   - Simple: A boost you give by linking your hands so someone can step up.
   - _She laced her fingers together and gave him a leg up through the open window._
   - _Before the race, the trainer gave the jockey a leg up into the saddle._
17. One of the separate trades or positions that together make up a multi-part trading strategy, such as an options spread.
   - Simple: One of the separate trades that together make up a bigger trading plan.
   - _The spread consists of two legs: a long call and a short call at a higher strike._
   - _Closing just one leg of the position left the trader exposed to sudden price moves._
21. One of the branches of a hyperbola or similar curve that extends outward without end.
   - Simple: One of the two arms of a curve like a hyperbola that keep stretching out without end.
   - _As x grows large, each leg of the hyperbola approaches its asymptote but never meets it._
   - _The graph splits into two legs that open away from each other._
22. A branch of an electrical circuit, such as a side connection to an instrument or one phase of a polyphase system.
   - Simple: One branch of an electric circuit, or one of the separate power lines in a supply such as three-phase power.
   - _A fault on one leg of the three-phase feed shut down half the machines._
   - _The technician balanced the load across all three legs of the system._
23. A column of text, treated as a unit of length when measuring how a story is laid out.
   - Simple: A column of printed text, used to measure how long an article is.
   - _The copy editor trimmed the feature to fill exactly three legs._
   - _Her piece took up a full leg in the morning edition._
24. Among paratroopers, a disparaging name for any soldier who is not qualified to jump by parachute. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: A rude name paratroopers use for a soldier who is not trained to jump by parachute.
   - _Every leg in the battalion was eager to finish jump school and earn his wings._
   - _The veterans gave the legs the worst chores until they completed their qualifying jumps._
27. A downward extension of a steam boiler, forming a narrow space between vertical plates that often surrounds the furnace and ash pit and helps support the boiler; also called a water leg.
   - Simple: A narrow space at the bottom of a steam boiler, between metal plates, that holds water and helps support the boiler.
   - _Sludge tends to settle in the water leg of a locomotive boiler, so crews wash it out regularly._
   - _The boiler's legs surrounded the firebox and kept the structure steady._
28. In grain handling, a bucket elevator that lifts grain upward on a moving belt of buckets, or the upright casing around that belt.
   - Simple: A machine with buckets on a moving belt that lifts grain up, or the case around it.
   - _A blockage in the leg stopped the buckets from carrying grain to the top._
   - _Workers opened the inspection door near the bottom of the leg to clear grain that had jammed the buckets._

## Verb

16. To attach supporting legs to a platform or stage so it stands at the needed height.
   - Simple: To add legs to a platform or stage so that it stands up.
   - _Stagehands leg the riser to raise the drummer above the rest of the band._
   - _Once they legged the platform, it stood firm under the lights._
18. To apply pressure with the leg, especially as a rider urging a horse forward.
   - Simple: To press or push with the leg, as a rider does to guide a horse.
   - _Riders leg the horse forward into the turn rather than pulling on the reins._
   - _He legged the mare past the spooky gate without using the whip._
19. To enter or exit a multi-part trading position, such as an options spread, by executing its parts separately rather than all at once.
   - Simple: To make the trades of one bigger trading plan one at a time, instead of all at once.
   - _Rather than placing one order for the whole spread, he decided to leg in, buying the lower-strike call first and selling the higher-strike call later._
   - _Traders who are legging into a spread risk having prices move against them before the second order fills._
20. To cut or remove the legs from the carcass of an animal.
   - Simple: To cut the legs off the body of a dead animal.

## Noun

25. A bow or curtsey performed as a gesture of submission or respect, chiefly in the phrase make a leg. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A bow or curtsey made to show respect, especially in the old phrase make a leg.
26. A disreputable person involved in sporting or betting circles; a cheat or swindler, also called a blackleg. *(archaic, UK)*
   - Simple: A dishonest person who cheats at betting and sports.

## Origin

Old Norse leggr meant "leg, calf, stalk" and also a bone of the arm or leg. Going back to Proto-Germanic, it was borrowed into Middle English as leg, and once borrowed it largely pushed out the native Old English sċanca (modern shank). Icelandic leggur, Swedish lägg and Danish læg are related.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/leg (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).