leonine

[lee-uh-nahyn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR leonine ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to the lion.

resembling or suggestive of a lion.

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

Origin of leonine

1350–1400; Middle English leonyn < Latin leōnīnus lionlike, equivalent to leōn- (stem of leō lion) + -īnus -ine¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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Examples from the Web for leonine

Historical Examples of leonine

The Frenchman's leonine countenance took on a hostile expression.
Sacrifice
Stephen French Whitman
But with beer to be gained by boldness, Ichabod was leonine in courage.
Julia And Her Romeo: A Chronicle Of Castle Barfield
David Christie Murray
In the leonine eyes looking into hers gleamed the light of admiration and approval.
The Yellow Claw
Sax Rohmer
But here Leonine interrupted her with desiring her to say her prayers.
Tales from Shakespeare
Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb
You agree with me, I suspect, that she is—or was—leonine, terrific.
The Best Short Stories of 1919
Various

British Dictionary definitions for leonine

leonine

adjective

of, characteristic of, or resembling a lion

Word Origin for leonine

C14: from Latin leōnīnus, from leō lion

Leonine

adjective

connected with one of the popes called Leo

Leonine City a district of Rome on the right bank of the Tiber fortified by Pope Leo IV

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

noun

Also called: Leonine verse

a type of medieval hexameter or elegiac verse having internal rhyme
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

Word Origin and History for leonine

adj.

"lion-like," late 14c., from Old French leonin or directly from Latin leoninus "belonging to or resembling a lion," from leo (genitive leonis) "lion." Weekley thinks that Leonine verse (1650s), rhymed in the middle as well as the end of the line, probably is from the name of some medieval poet, perhaps Leo, Canon of St. Victor, Paris, 12c.

leonine in Medicine

leonine

[lē′ə-nīn]

adj.

Of, relating to, or characteristic of a lion.