n.
Pronunciation: ' l ī - ə n
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural lions
Etymology: Middle English lioun, from Anglo-French leun, lion, from Latin leon-, leo, from Greek le ō n
Date: 12th century
1 a or plural lion : 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 b : any of several large wildcats especially : COUGAR c capitalized : LEO
2 a : a person felt to resemble a lion (as in courage or ferocity) b : a person of outstanding interest or importance <a literary lion >
3 capitalized [ Lions ( club )] : a member of a major national and international service club
– li · on · like \ - ˌ l ī k \ adjective