See Also: Lion(medicine)
Lion Air(tourism)
sea lion(dictionary)
lion(dictionary)
sea lion(encyclopedia)
lion(encyclopedia)
sea lion(dictionary)
lion(dictionary)
sea lion(medicine)
Red Lion Pub(tourism)

lion (iou)



lion noun & adjective. ME.
[Anglo-Norman liun (French lion) from Latin leo, leon from Greek leon, replacing earlier LEO.]
A. noun.
A large powerful carnivorous feline, Panthera leo, found in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of India (formerly more widely) and having a tawny or yellowish brown coat, a tufted tail, and (in the male) a shaggy mane; the male of this (cf. LIONESS); this animal as the type of strength, majesty, and courage, the 'king of beasts'. See also ant-lion s.v. ANT noun, SEA LION. ME.
E. Hall We must..fight together like lions. J. Howell Like the month of March, which entreth like a Lion.
fig.
a. A person who is strong, courageous, or fiercely brave. ME.
b. A fiercely cruel, tyrannical, or rapacious creature or person. ME.
c. (Lion.) A member of a Lions Club (see below). E20.
An image or picture of a lion, esp. as a heraldic emblem, or as a sign for inns etc. ME.
R. West Let's stop off at the Red Lion..they do a posh tea.
b. (Lion.) The lion as the national emblem of Great Britain; fig. the British nation. Also British Lion. L17.
c. (Lion.) A member of a British Isles rugby union team touring abroad. Also British Lion. M20.
A gold coin current in Scotland down to the reign of James VI. Also = HARD-HEAD 5. obsolete exc. Hist. LME.
(Usu. Lion.) (The name of) the constellation and zodiacal sign Leo; Little Lion, (the name of) the constellation Leo Minor. LME.
a. In pl. Things of note, celebrity, or curiosity (in a town etc.); sights worth seeing. Esp. in see the lions, show the lions. L16.
B. H. Malkin The churches were the best lions we met with.
b. A person of note or celebrity who is much sought after. E17.
A. S. Dale At fifty Shaw was a literary lion with a colourful public image. B. Mason Whenever Glad could bag a visiting lion.., she would command The Friends to entertain.
c. A visitor to Oxford University. slang. L18-E19.
Phrases: a lion in the way, a lion in the path [Proverbs 26:13] a danger or obstacle, esp. an imaginary one. beard the lion in his den, beard the lion in his lair: see BEARD verb 1. British Lion: see senses 3b, c above. Little Lion: see sense 5 above. mountain lion = PUMA. NEMEAN lion. the lion's mouth (a type of) a place of great peril. the lion's provider the jackal. the lion's share the largest or principal portion. twist the lion's tail: see TWIST verb.
Comb.: lion-ant = ant-lion s.v. ANT noun; lion dance a traditional Chinese dance in which the dancers are masked and costumed to resemble lions; lion dog (a) (a dog belonging to) any of several breeds resembling miniature lions in colour or type of fur; (b) = ridgeback s.v. RIDGE noun1; lion-head a variety of goldfish having an enlarged head; lion-heart a courageous person, freq. as a sobriquet of Richard I, King of England 1189-99; lion-hearted adjective having the heart or courage of a lion; courageous; magnanimously brave; lion-hunter a person who hunts lions; a person who is given to lionizing celebrities; lion-huntress a female lion-hunter; Lions Club any of numerous associated clubs devoted to social and international service, the first of which was founded in Chicago in 1917; lion's ear any of various plants of the African genus Leonotis, of the mint family, esp. L. leonurus, cultivated for its showy orange flowers borne in axillary clusters; lion's foot a plant of the Eurasian genus Leontopodium, of the composite family, esp.. edelweiss, L. alpinum; lion's heart = obedient plant s.v. OBEDIENT 1; lion's leaf any plant of the Eurasian genus Leontice, of the berberis family, esp. L. leontopetalum; lion's tail the plant Leonotis leonurus (see lion's ear above); lion's turnip = lion's leaf above; lion-tailed macaque a SW Indian macaque, Macaca silenus; lion tamarin a tamarin of the genus Leontopithecus, esp. (more fully golden lion tamarin) Leontopithecus rosalia of SE Brazil, with long silky golden fur; lion-tawny noun & adjective (of) the tawny colour characteristic of lions.
b. attrib. or as adjective. Like a lion, characteristic of a lion; strong, brave, or fierce as a lion. M16.
Milton The bold Ascalonite Fled from his Lion ramp. Tennyson Strong mother of a Lion-line.
lionhood noun the state or condition of being a lion M19.
lionish adjective resembling, characteristic of, or of the nature of a lion; brave or fierce as a lion: M16.
lionism noun the practice of lionizing; the condition of being treated as a celebrity: M19.
lion-like adjective & adverb (a) adjective resembling a lion; characteristic or suggestive of a lion; (b) adverb in the manner of a lion: M16.
lionship noun M18.