lion
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- lyon (obsolete)
Etymology edit
From Middle English lyoun, lion, leon, borrowed from Old French lion, from Latin leō, (accusative: leōnem), from Ancient Greek λέων (léōn). Some argue that it is a borrowing from a Semitic language; however evidence is not clear and the relation with Proto-Semitic *labiʾ- is not solid. Semitic "labi/lavi" could either be a parent term to the Greek one or both could have evolved independently from a now lost root. Doublet of Leo, leu, lev, and Lyon.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
lion (plural lions or lion, feminine lioness)
- A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe.
- Tigers and lions share a common ancestor from a few million years ago.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 14, page 311:
- For with ſuch puiſſance and impetuous maine / Thoſe Champions broke on them, that forſt the fly, / Like ſcattered Sheepe, whenas the Shepherds ſwaine / A Lyon and a Tigre doth eſpye, / With greedy pace forth ruſhing from the foreſt nye.
- (by extension) Any of various extant and extinct big cats, especially the mountain lion.
- A Chinese foo dog.
- An individual who shows strength and courage, attributes associated with the lion.
- 2003, Peter Armstrong, Angus McBride, Stirling Bridge & Falkirk 1297–98: William Wallace's Rebellion:
- It was said of [Edward Plantaganet] that 'he was a lion for pride and ferocity but a pard for inconstancy and changeableness, not keeping his word or promise but excusing himself with fair words'.
- A famous person regarded with interest and curiosity.
- 1847 March 30, Herman Melville, Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas; […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC:
- During this period, we were the lions of the neighbourhood; and, no doubt, strangers from the distant villages were taken to see the "Karhowrees" (white men), in the same way that countrymen, in a city, are gallanted to the Zoological Gardens.
- 1844, John Wilson, Essay on the Genius, and Character of Burns:
- Such society was far more enjoyable than that of Edinburgh, for here he was not a lion, but a man.
- 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 84:
- The men were delighted to go, and became the lions of the following season in Adelaide.
- 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “ch. 4”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:
- Rose Waterford was a cynic. She looked upon life as an opportunity for writing novels and the public as her raw material. Now and then she invited members of it to her house if they showed an appreciation of her talent and entertained with proper lavishness. She held their weakness for lions in good-humoured contempt, but played to them her part of the distinguished woman of letters with decorum.
- 1965 August, Mississippi Phil Ochs, “The Newport Fuzz Festival”, in The Realist[1], number 61, retrieved 2022-11-13, page 11:
- Heated comments were exchanged, and, before anyone could say, "festival," the two lions of the folk power structure were rolling in the dirt.
- 2014, Camper Van Beethoven (lyrics and music), “City of Industry”, in El Camino Real, performed by Camper Van Beethoven:
- So bring a basket for the lions / Of City of Industry
- A light brown color that resembles the fur of a lion. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- lion:
- (historical) An old Scottish coin, with a lion on the obverse, worth 74 shillings.
Holonyms edit
- (individual Panthera leo): pride
Coordinate terms edit
Derived terms edit
- African lion
- American lion
- antlion, ant lion
- aphid lion, aphis lion
- Asian lion
- Asiatic lion
- Atlas lion
- Barbary lion
- beard the lion
- beard the lion in his den
- brave as a lion
- California sea lion
- Cape lion
- cave lion
- Cotswold lion
- cowardly lion
- dandelion
- Essex lion
- foo lion
- Galapagos sea lion, Galápagos sea lion
- golden lion tamarin
- Japanese sea lion
- leopon
- liger
- lion ant
- lion cub
- lion cut
- lion dance
- lion dog
- lioness
- lionfish, lion fish
- Lionheart
- lionhearted, lion-hearted
- lion-heartedly
- lion-heartedness
- lionhood
- lion hunter
- lion in the way
- lionise, lionize
- lionish
- lionism
- lionkeeper
- lionlike
- lionling
- lion lizard
- lionly
- lion mask
- Lion of Judah
- Lion of St Mark
- Lion of Venice
- lion's ear
- lion's foot
- lionship
- lion's leaf
- lion's share
- lion's tail
- lion's tooth
- lion-tailed macaque
- lion tamarin
- lion tamer
- March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb
- marsupial lion
- mountain lion
- Nemean lion
- northern lion
- Nubian lion
- red lion
- sea lion, sea-lion
- snow lion
- South American sea lion
- Steller sea lion
- Steller's sea lion
- steppe lion
- tigon
- twist the lion's tail
- white lion
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
Translations edit
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Adjective edit
lion (not comparable)
- Of the light brown color that resembles the fur of a lion.
See also edit
- lion on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Panthera leo on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
- Category:lion on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
- Appendix:Animals
- Appendix:English collective nouns
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Old French lion, a semi-learned borrowing from Latin leōnem, from Ancient Greek λέων (léōn).
Pronunciation edit
- IPA(key): /ljɔ̃/
audio (file) - (Quebec) IPA(key): /li.ɔ̃/
- (Quebec)
audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɔ̃
- Homophones: lions, Lyon
Noun edit
lion m (plural lions, feminine lionne)
- (zoology) lion
- (specifically) male lion
- (figuratively) lion (brave person)
- se défendre comme un lion ― to defend oneself with great courage
- (heraldry) lion
- (figuratively, dated) lion (celebrity; famous person)
- (dated) a style of elegant young man that came after the dandy
Derived terms edit
- avoir mangé du lion
- golfe du Lion
- lion des montagnes
- lionne (“lioness”)
- lionceau (“lion cub”)
- part du lion
Descendants edit
Further reading edit
- “lion”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams edit
Kabuverdianu edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
lion
Krio edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
lion
- leone (currency of Sierra Leone)
Middle English edit
Noun edit
lion
- Alternative form of lyoun
Old French edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Semi-learned borrowing from Latin leō, leōnem, derived from Ancient Greek λέων (léōn).
Noun edit
lion oblique singular, m (oblique plural lions, nominative singular lions, nominative plural lion)
- lion (animal)
Descendants edit
Piedmontese edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
lion m