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leonine

American  
[lee-uh-nahyn] / ˈli əˌnaɪn /

adjective

  1. of or relating to the lion.

    We breathlessly watched the pride, in its leonine majesty, as it moved across the veldt.

  2. resembling or suggestive of a lion.

    the conductor's wild, leonine hair.

  3. (usually initial capital letter) of or relating to Leo, especially Leo IV or Leo XIII.

Leonine 1 British  
/ ˈliːəˌnaɪn /

adjective

  1. connected with one of the popes called Leo

  2. a district of Rome on the right bank of the Tiber fortified by Pope Leo IV

  3. of or relating to certain prayers in the Mass prescribed by Pope Leo XIII

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. Also called: Leonine verse. 

    1. a type of medieval hexameter or elegiac verse having internal rhyme

    2. a type of English verse with internal rhyme

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
leonine 2 British  
/ ˈliːəˌnaɪn /

adjective

  1. of, characteristic of, or resembling a lion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of leonine

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English leonyn, from Latin leōnīnus “lionlike,” equivalent to leōn- (stem of leō) + -īnus; lion, -ine 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

What looked on the picture to be a long, leonine dangling tail with a bob at the end could have been a shadow cast by vegetation.

From Reuters • Jul. 21, 2023

Encountering again the fuzz and warmth of Mandela’s leonine tones, Stengel realized something: He had a podcast on his hands.

From New York Times • Nov. 30, 2022

The series was created by American writer David Jenkins and produced by the prolific Taika Waititi, who also stars as Blackbeard, to whom he brings a leonine grace.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2022

She restrains from belting these lines out with her usual, leonine force, finding delicate new tones that double down on the song's devastating emotional impact.

From BBC • Nov. 18, 2021

The gaslight shone upon the heavy, leonine lines of his features—a mane of sandy-brown hair, eyes the piercing blue of gas flames, a firm mouth shaped around the stem of a briar pipe.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.