lion
/ˈlaɪən/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.25 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any of various extant and extinct big cats, especially the mountain lion.
noun
A person who shows attributes associated with the lion, such as strength, courage, or ferocity.
noun
A famous person regarded with interest and curiosity.
noun
A light brown color that resembles the fur of a lion.
Example Sentences
- "Tigers and lions share a common ancestor from a few million years ago."
- "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."
- "Sinibaldus lists lion's fat as a popular medieval aphrodisiac treatment."
- "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’."
- "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."
- "Such society was far more enjoyable than that of Edinburgh, for here he was not a lion, but a man."
Etymology
From Middle English lyoun, lion, leon, borrowed from Old French lion, from Latin leō, (accusative: leōnem), from Ancient Greek λέων (léōn), of unclear origin. Doublet of Leo, leu, lev, and Lyon. Displaced Old English lēo, from the same Latin source.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: lyoun, lion, leō, λέων
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Law.