lion
pronunciation
How to pronounce lion in British English:
UK [ˈlaɪən]
How to pronounce lion in American English:
US [ˈlaɪən]
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- Noun:
- large gregarious predatory feline of Africa and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male
- a celebrity who is lionized (much sought after)
Word Origin
- lion
- lion: [13] The word for ‘lion’ in virtually all modern European languages goes back to Greek léōn, which was presumably borrowed from some non-Indo-European source. From it came Latin lēo, which Old English took over as lēo. The modern English form lion was introduced in the 13th century via Anglo-French liun. Related forms include French lion, Italian leone, Spanish león, Romanian leu. German löwe, Dutch leeuw, Swedish lejon, Danish løve, Russian lev, and Welsh llew. The -leon of chameleon represents Greek léōn.=> chameleon
- lion (n.)
- late 12c., from Old French lion "lion," figuratively "hero," from Latin leonem (nominative leo) "lion; the constellation leo," from Greek leon (genitive leontos), from a non-Indo-European language, perhaps Semitic (compare Hebrew labhi "lion," plural lebaim; Egyptian labai, lawai "lioness"). A general Germanic borrowing from Latin (compare Old English leo, Anglian lea; Old Frisian lawa; Middle Dutch leuwe, Dutch leeuw; Old High German lewo, German Löwe); it is found in most European languages, often via Germanic (Old Church Slavonic livu, Polish lew, Czech lev, Old Irish leon, Welsh llew). Used figuratively from c. 1200 in an approving sense, "one who is fiercely brave," and a disapproving one, "tyrannical leader, greedy devourer." Lion's share "the greatest portion" is attested from 1701.
Antonym
Example
- 1. I made the cowardly lion look like the terminator .
- 2. The primal power of a mountain lion is viscerally obvious .
- 3. Exploration , if you haven 't noticed , occupies the lion 's share of these pages .
- 4. Eg. a lion has escaped from its cage .
- 5. But the lion 's mighty pipes are square .