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League   /lig/   Listen
noun
League  n.  
1.
A measure of length or distance, varying in different countries from about 2.4 to 4.6 English statute miles of 5,280 feet each, and used (as a land measure) chiefly on the continent of Europe, and in the Spanish parts of America. The marine league of England and the United States is equal to three marine, or geographical, miles of 6080 feet each. Note: The English land league is equal to three English statute miles. The Spanish and French leagues vary in each country according to usage and the kind of measurement to which they are applied. The Dutch and German leagues contain about four geographical miles, or about 4.6 English statute miles.
2.
A stone erected near a public road to mark the distance of a league. (Obs.)



League  n.  
1.
An alliance or combination of two or more nations, parties, organizations, or persons, for the accomplishment of a purpose which requires a continued course of action, as for mutual defense, or for furtherance of commercial, religious, or political interests, etc. "And let there be 'Twixt us and them no league, nor amity."
2.
Specifically: (Sports) An association of sports teams that establishes rules of play, decides questions of membership in the league, and organizes matches between the member teams. In some cases a sports league is called a conference, as in the National Football Conference. Note: A league may be offensive or defensive, or both; offensive, when the parties agree to unite in attacking a common enemy; defensive, when they agree to a mutual defense of each other against an enemy.
The Holy League, an alliance of Roman Catholics formed in 1576 by influence of the Duke of Guise for the exclusion of Protestants from the throne of France.
Solemn League and Covenant. See Covenant,2.
The land league, an association, organized in Dublin in 1879, to promote the interests of the Irish tenantry, its avowed objects being to secure fixity of tenure, fair rent, and free sale of the tenants' interest. It was declared illegal by Parliament, but vigorous prosecutions have failed to suppress it.
Synonyms: Alliance; confederacy; confederation; coalition; combination; compact; cooperation.



verb
League  v. t.  To join in a league; to cause to combine for a joint purpose; to combine; to unite; as, common interests will league heterogeneous elements.



League  v. i.  (past & past part. leagued; pres. part. leaguing)  To unite in a league or confederacy; to combine for mutual support; to confederate.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"League" Quotes from Famous Books



... terms than with the people. The great seigniors, Orange, Egmont, Horn, and others, openly avowed their hostility to him, and had already given their reasons to the King. Mansfeld and his son at that time were both with the opposition. Aerschot and Aremberg kept aloof from the league which was forming against the prelate, but had small sympathy for his person. Even Berlaymont began to listen to overtures from the leading nobles, who, among other inducements, promised to supply his children with bishoprics. There were none truly faithful ...
— The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1555-1566 • John Lothrop Motley

... the narrow channel through which the fugitive governor would have to pass on his way to Quebec. They had ample time to set the trap; for an incessant nor'-easter blew up the St Lawrence day after day and held Carleton fast in Montreal, while, only a league away, Montgomery's main body was preparing to cross over. Escape by land was impossible, as the Americans held Berthier, on the north shore, and had won over the habitants, all the way down from Montreal, on both sides of the ...
— The Father of British Canada: A Chronicle of Carleton • William Wood

... earth to waiting Hades fly, Grieve not; and when to Erech you return, Thou shalt in glory reign, and Zaidu learn As thy companion all that thine own heart Desires, thy throne thou wilt to him impart. The female, Samkha, whom he brought to me Is false, in league with thine own enemy. And she will cause thee mischief, seek to drive Thee from thy throne; but do not let her live Within the walls of Erech, for the gods Have not been worshipped in their high abodes. When thou returnest, to the temple go, And pray the gods to turn from thee the ...
— Babylonian and Assyrian Literature • Anonymous

... inseparable," became the rallying cry of a great cause. Similar in sentiment was his famous speech of March 7, 1850, On the Constitution and the Union, which gave so much offense to the extreme Antislavery party, who held with Garrison that a Constitution which protected slavery "was a league with death and a covenant with hell." It is not claiming too much for Webster to assert that the sentences of these and other speeches, memorized and declaimed by thousands of school-boys throughout the North, did as much as any single ...
— Initial Studies in American Letters • Henry A. Beers

... good example of the fascination exerted by a circumstantial narrative is the legend respecting the origin of the League of the three primitive Swiss cantons (Gessler and the Gruetli conspirators), which was fabricated by Tschudi in the sixteenth century, became classical on the production of Schiller's "William Tell," and has only been extirpated ...
— Introduction to the Study of History • Charles V. Langlois


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