LION

noun (plural ~s) Etymology: Middle English lioun, from Anglo-French leun, ~, from Latin leon-, leo, from Greek leōn Date: 12th century 1. a large heavily built social cat ( Panthera leo ) of open or rocky areas chiefly of sub-Saharan Africa though once widely distributed throughout Africa and southern Asia that has a tawny body with a tufted tail and a shaggy blackish or dark brown mane in the male, any of several large wildcats, Leo , 2. a person felt to resemble a ~ (as in courage or ferocity), a person of outstanding interest or importance , a member of a major national and international service club, ~like adjective