First recorded in 1900–05; from Bulgarian: literally, “lion,” Old Church Slavonic lĭvŭ, probably from Old High German lewo, from Latin lēo; see leu
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The lev - meaning lion - has been the Bulgarian currency since 1881, but it has been pegged to other European currencies since 1997 - first the Deutschmark, then the euro.
From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025
Petkov said Bulgaria, which has pegged its lev currency to the euro, is sticking for the time being with its target of joining the euro zone as of January 2024.
From Reuters • Mar. 7, 2022
In Europe, the Danish krone and Bulgarian lev still are pegged to the euro.
From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 25, 2015
President Rosen Plevneliev of Bulgaria, which joined the union in 2007 but still uses its own currency, the lev, said he was “very worried” by events next door in Greece.
From New York Times • Jun. 25, 2015
"Then lev us enjoy the summer while we've a-got et, sur."
From The Man Who Rose Again by Hocking, Joseph
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.
