Толковый словарь английского языка Oxford English Reference - league

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a collection of people, countries, groups, etc., combining for a particular purpose, esp. mutual protection or cooperation. 2 an agreement to combine in this way. 3 a group of sports clubs which compete over a period for a championship. 4 a class of contestants. --v.intr. (leagues, leagued, leaguing) (often foll. by together) join in a league. Phrases and idioms in league allied, conspiring. league football Austral. Rugby League or Australian Rules football played in leagues. league table 1 a listing of competitors as a league, showing their ranking according to performance. 2 any list of ranking order. Etymology: F ligue or It. liga, var. of lega f. legare bind f. L ligare 2. n. archaic a varying measure of travelling-distance by land, usu. about three miles. Etymology: ME, ult. f. LL leuga, leuca, of Gaulish orig.