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Glite Dictionary
foreign legion

foreign legion

1 6.7
A military unit of volunteers from other countries who serve in a country's army
  • noun
  • /ˈfɔrɪn ˈliːdʒən/
translation icon : legión extranjera
  • Many young men have joined the foreign legion in search of adventure and a fresh start.

He takes up drinking and joins the Klatchian Foreign Legion.

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Examples

  • The alternative is to copy the foreign legion model, with units that combine U.S. officers and nonnative volunteers who have renounced their national allegiance, perhaps attracted by the offer of U.S. citizenship after a given term of service.

    Academic text (1994)

  • They obviously have that Foreign Legion thing going on and you're getting all kinds of people joining that.

    Shawn Ryan Show

  • The foreign legion is our home, gentlemen!

    Savior (1998)

  • There's a foreign legion of women too.

    Morocco (1930)

  • As a result, the elite units of the French military, such as the paratroopers and the foreign legion, quickly became a haven for an unsavory collection of thugs and psychopaths.

    Academic text (2004)

  • The foreign legion is known for accepting volunteers from various countries, uniting them for a common cause.

  • Training in the foreign legion can be extremely challenging, as recruits must adapt to a rigorous military lifestyle.

Synonyms

French Foreign Legion
vsforeign legion
2 5.6

Part of the French army made of foreign volunteers who serve abroad

is the general label used across countries rather than one named national unit

Surface Forms

foreign legion singular
foreign legions plural

Morphology

foreign + legion

The meaning is directly derivable from 'foreign' (from other countries) + 'legion' (a large military unit), so a learner who knows both words can infer 'a military unit made up of foreigners'. Although there is a specific famous institution (the French Foreign Legion), the composition is transparent and follows normal noun + modifier logic found across languages.

Etymology

Foreign legion shows a simple picture: foreign means people from other countries and legion means a large group of soldiers. It began as a French unit that took 'volunteers' from many places, so today the phrase means 'a military unit made of soldiers who are not from the country they serve'.