French Foreign Legion
2
5.6
- noun
- /frɛntʃ ˈfɔrɪn ˈliːdʒən/
:
Legión Extranjera Francesa
- I always wanted to join the French Foreign Legion because of its legendary history and unique opportunities.
- join the French Foreign Legion
Examples
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He had previously studied at the Sorbonne, and at Geneva and Zurich universities, as well as serving a stint in the French Foreign Legion.
Academic text (1996) -
Her father, a colonel in the French Foreign Legion.
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I always wanted to join the French Foreign Legion.
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He is from the French Foreign Legion.
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Children, this is the old friend of whom you have heard me speak so often - Captain Henri de Beaujolais, of the French Foreign Legion.
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They were expelled from Algeria by the French Foreign Legion.
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On a day white with the intolerable desert sun, a battalion of the French Foreign Legion advanced across the Sahara to the relief of Fort Zinderneuf, whose messengers, riding with all speed, had brought word of a massed Arab attack.
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During the colonial division of Africa, when these lands were partitioned into British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, and French Somaliland, peace was often maintained by payment of tribute to clan chiefs, though with forces like the French Foreign Legion standing by should sterner measures be required.
Academic text (1996) -
Eager for adventure, he joined the French Foreign Legion to serve in military operations abroad.
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Once we were next to a unit of the French Foreign Legion during our travels in North Africa.
Synonyms
1
6.7
A military unit of volunteers from other countries who serve in a country's army
Surface Forms
Morphology
Each word contributes directly: 'legion' denotes a military unit, 'foreign' indicates members from other countries, and 'French' locates the unit with France. A B1 learner who knows these senses can reasonably infer this is a French military unit made up of foreigners (a compositional, cross-linguistically attested concept), so the meaning is transparent.
Etymology
French Foreign Legion began in the 1800s as a special unit so people from other countries could join the French army. Because it was a legion of foreign volunteers serving for France, the name now means a French army unit made up mostly of non-French soldiers who often serve outside France.