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What is the difference between union and league?

union | league |

As nouns the difference between union and league

is that union is the act of uniting or joining two or more things into one while league is a group or association of cooperating members.

As a verb league is

to form an association; to unite in a league or confederacy; to combine for mutual support.

union

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (countable) The act of uniting or joining two or more things into one.
  • (uncountable) The state of being united or joined.
  • (countable) That which is united, or made one; something formed by a combination or coalition of parts or members; a confederation; a consolidated body; a league.
  • (countable) A trade union; a workers' union.
  • * , chapter=22
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=In the autumn there was a row at some cement works about the unskilled labour men. A union had just been started for them and all but a few joined. One of these blacklegs was laid for by a picket and knocked out of time.}}
  • (countable) A joint or other connection uniting parts of machinery, such as pipes.
  • (countable, set theory) The set containing all of the elements of two or more sets.
  • (countable) The act or state of marriage.
  • (uncountable, archaic, euphemistic) Sexual intercourse.
  • (countable, computing) A data structure that can store any of various items, but only one at a time.
  • A large, high-quality pearl.
  • *, II.3.3:
    • Nonius the senator hath a purple coat as stiff with jewels as his mind is full of vices; rings on his fingers worth 20,000 sesterces, andan union in his ear worth an hundred pounds' weight of gold […].

    Synonyms

    * junction, coalition, combination

    Derived terms

    * banjo union * enterprise union * trades union, trade union * union card * unionised, unionized * European Union * Soviet Union

    Related terms

    * reunion * reunification * unify * unity

    See also

    * intersection * (Webster 1913)

    Anagrams

    * ----

    league

    English

    (wikipedia league)

    Etymology 1

    (etyl) ligg, from (etyl) ligue, from (etyl) lega, from the verb legare, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A group or association of cooperating members.
    • the League of Nations
  • * Denham
    • And let there be / 'Twixt us and them no league , nor amity.
  • An organization of sports teams which play against one another for a championship.
    • My favorite sports organizations are the National Football League''' and the American '''League in baseball.
  • (informal) Rugby league.
    • Are you going to watch the league tonight?
    Derived terms
    * bush league * in a league of one's own * in league (with) * major league * minor league * non-league * out of one's league * seven-league boots

    Verb

    (leagu)
  • To form an association; to unite in a league or confederacy; to combine for mutual support.
    • (South)

    Etymology 2

    From (m), possibly from (etyl).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (measurement) The distance that a person can walk in one hour, commonly taken to be approximately three English miles (about five kilometers).
  • * M. Le Page Du Pratz, History of Louisiana (PG), p. 47
    • Seven leagues above the mouth of the river we meet with two other passes, as large as the middle one by which we entered.''
  • A stone erected near a public road to mark the distance of a league.

    • References

    * Online Etymology, league * Middle English Dictionary, lege