lion

lion, n.
  (ˈlaɪən)
  Forms: α. 1 léa, l{iacu}o, léo, 3 leo, 3 Orm. le (gen. leness, leoness, leuness). β. 3 leun(e, lyun, 3–4 leoun, liun(e, 3–5 leon, 3–8 lyon, 4 leone, lyen, 4–6 ly-, lione, lioun, 5 lyown, lywn, 5–6 lyoun(e, 6 lionne, 3– lion.
  [The mod. form represents an adoption (first appearing c 1200) of AF. liun (F. lion), a Com. Rom. word = Pr. leo, Sp. leon, Pg. leão, It. leone, lione:—L. leōnem, nom. leo, a. Gr. λέων (stem λεοντ-, perh. altered from an earlier *λεϝον-). The Gr. word was perh. adopted from some foreign lang.; a noteworthy similarity of sound is presented by Heb. lābī lion (pl. l⊇bā'īm), also occurring in the sense ‘lioness’ with the vocalization l⊇biyyā; cf. also Egyptian labai, lawai lioness. The synonymous Gr. λίς (cf. Heb. layish) is not etymologically connected.
  Before the adoption of the Fr. word, English possessed forms directly representing the Latin leo, leōnem. The word was used, with difference of gender and inflexion, both for ‘lion’ and ‘lioness’, the L. leæna not having been adopted. Owing to the two-fold form of the L. word in the nom. and the oblique case, the declension in OE. is irregular and variable. The recorded forms are: nom. sing. léo (Anglian léa), gen. sing. léon (Northumb. masc. léas), dat. sing. léon, léone, léonan, acc. sing. léon (fem. also léo), nom., acc. pl. léon, gen. pl. léona, dat. pl. léoum, léom, léonum.
  The L. word has been adopted into all the Teut. langs.: cf. OFris. lawa, MDu. leuwe, lēwe (Du. leeuw), OHG. lewo, lêwo, louwo, lio (MHG. lē̆we, leu, mod.G. löwe, leu), ON. león, lión (MSw. leon, Sw. lejon, Da. l{obar}ve from Ger.). From Gr. or L., but in some cases through Teut. as the immediate source, are the forms in the Balto-Slavic langs.: Lith. lëvas, liutas, Lettish lauvas, OSl. lĭvŭ, Russ. lev, Polish lew, Czech lev.]
  1. a. A large carnivorous quadruped, Felis leo, now found native only in Africa and southern Asia, of a tawny or yellowish brown colour, and having a tufted tail. The male is distinguished by a flowing shaggy mane. (The Maneless Lion of Gujerat is a recognized Asiatic variety with only a slight mane.) It is very powerful, and has a noble and impressive appearance; whence it is sometimes called ‘the king of beasts’. In early use the name was applied to both sexes; from the 13th c. the derivative lioness has been used for the female.
  The young are now commonly called ‘lion's cubs’; the older designation ‘lion's whelp’ survives in rhetorical applications, owing to its use in the Bible.

α c 825 Vesp. Psalter vii. 3 Ðyles æfre ᵹeslæcce swe swe lea sawle mine. c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iii. xi. §3 Seo leo bringð his hungreᵹum hwelpum hwæt to etanne. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 364 Ða þe scinlac þrowien etan leonflæsc. c 1050 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 438/22 Leo, lio. c 1200 Ormin 5834 And tatt wass rihht tatt le wass sett Onngæn þatt Goddspellwrihhte,..Forr leness whellp þær þær itt iss Whellpedd, tær liþ itt stille Þre daȝhess. Ibid. 6026 Þatt deor Þatt wass i leoness like. c 1205 Lay. 28064 Þa com an guldene leo liðen ouer dune. c 1325 in Rel. Ant. I. 125 Gentil ich wes ant freo Wildore then the leo.

β c 1200 Vices & Virtues (1888) 139 Ðe lyon ðe gað abuten þe dier hem to forswoleȝen. c 1205 Lay. 4085 He liððe ȝeon þeos leoden sulch hit an liun were [c 1275 a lion]. a 1225 Juliana 33 Daniel bimong þe wode liuns. a 1300 Cursor M. 690 Als lambe him lai þe leon mild. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 11255 (Petyt MS.) Ilkon proudere þan þe lion. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 798 Tho myghtest wene that this Palamon In his fightyng were a wood leon. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 74 As leon is the king of bestes. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) ii. xlv. 51 Somme hadden longe hoked clawes, lyke as they had ben lyons. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 113 Thus Wallace ferd als fers as a lyoun. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 129 Rauenynge wolues or rampynge lyons. a 1548 Hall Chron., Rich. III, 54 b, We must..fight together like lions, and feare not to dye together lyke men. 1671 Milton P.R. i. 313 The Lion and fierce Tiger glar'd aloof. a 1687 Waller Summer Isl. ii. 16 They roar'd like Lions caught in toyles, and rag'd. 1727–38 Gay Fables ii. ix. 73 The Lion is (beyond dispute) Allow'd the most majestic brute. 1839 Penny Cycl. XIV. 32/2 The Maneless Lion of Guzerat. 1859 FitzGerald tr. Omar xvii. (1899) 74 They say the Lion and the Lizard keep The Courts where Jamshyd gloried and drank deep.

  b. Extended to other animals of the genus Felis. American mountain lion, the puma or cougar.

1630 New-England's Plantation (1835) 8 For Beasts there are some Bears, and they say some Lyons also; for they haue been seen at Cape Anne. 1649 Perf. Descr. Virginia 17 [List of native beasts] Lyons, Beares, Leopards, Elkes. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1824) I. 431 The Puma, which has received the name of the American Lion.

  c. Applied ironically (usually with qualification) to certain weak or timid animals: † lion of Cotswold, † Cotswold lion (also Sc. Lammermoor lion), a sheep; Essex lion or Rumford lion, a calf. See also quots. 1825, 1827.

1537, a 1553, a 1612 [see Cotswold]. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 36 She is as fierce, as a Lyon of Cotsolde. 1678 Ray Proverbs 307 As valiant as an Essex lion, i.e. a calf. 1699 T. Brown Wks. (1720) I. 216 That Prodigy of a Man that..so dexterously mimick'd the Harmony of the Essex Lions. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Rumford-Lyon, a Calf. 1721 Kelly Sc. Prov. 380 You look like a Lamermoor Lyon. 1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 156 I'll thank you for a cut out of the back of that lion, tittered a man opposite. With all the natural timidity of the hare whom he thus particularised, I was proceeding to help him [etc.]. 1827 Lytton Pelham xxxix. (1849) 101 ‘A lion is a hare, sir.’ ‘What!’ ‘Yes, sir, it is a hare!—but we call it a lion, because of the Game Laws.’

  2. Proverbial and allusive phrases. a. Proverbs (chiefly referring to the strength or ferocity of the lion). b. a lion in the way (or path): after Prov. xxvi. 13, applied to a danger or obstacle, esp. an imaginary one. c. the lion's mouth: taken as a type of a place of great peril. (Cf. Ps. xxii. 21, 2 Tim. iv. 17.) Similarly, in the lion's paws. d. the lion's share: the largest or principal portion. e. the lion's skin occurs chiefly with reference to the fable of the ass that clothed himself in the skin of a lion. (See also quots.) f. the lion's provider = jackal n., lit. and fig. g. to twist the lion's tail: freq. in journalistic use with reference to foreign insults to, or encroachments on the rights of, Great Britain (cf. 5 c).

a. 1382 Wyclif Eccl. ix. 4 Betere is a quyc dogge thanne a leoun dead. c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 483 As by the whelp chasted is the leon [cf. F. battre le chien devant le lion]. ― Wife's Prol. 692 Who peynted the leon, tel me who? [See note, ed. Skeat.] 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 138 You are the Hare of whom the Prouerb goes Whose valour plucks dead Lyons by the beard. 1640 Howell Dodona's G. 10 Like the moneth of March, which entreth like a Lion, but goeth out like a Lamb. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. vi. ii. 291 As the Proverb saith, The Lion is not so fierce as he is painted. 1749 [see beard v. 3]. 1808 Scott Marm. vi. xiv, And dar'st thou then To beard the lion in his den, The Douglas in his hall?

b. 1641 Milton Reform. ii. Wks. (1847) 18/1 They fear'd not the bug-bear danger nor the Lyon in the way that the sluggish and timorous Politician thinks he sees. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. §342 There be both Mountains, and Lyons in the way. 1868 Bright Sp. Ireland 1 Apr., You have always..lions in the path. 1869 Tennyson Holy Grail 643, I have been the sluggard, and I ride apace, For now there is a lion in the way.

c. a 1225 St. Marher. 7 Leose me lauerd ut of þe liunes muð. 1601 Dent Pathw. Heaven 62 What doth hee else, but (as it were) put his finger into the Lions mouth. 1629 Capt. Smith True Trav. xx. (Arb.) 878 But Merham, the old fox, seeing himselfe in the lions pawes, sprung his loufe. 1726 Cavallier Mem. iv. 289 He wou'd not lay down his Arms, saying it was better to die, than to run into the Lion's Mouth. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Truth Wks. (Bohn) II. 54 In the power of saying rude truth, sometimes in the lion's mouth, no men surpass them.

d. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. Wks. V. 252 Nor when they were in partnership with the farmer..have I heard that they had taken the lion's share. 1836 Sir H. Taylor Statesman xxii. 155 Always..ready to take the lion's share of responsibility and labour. 1865 Lowell Wks. (1890) V. 251 Attacking a government which they knew only by their lion's share in its offices. 1872 Punch 22 June 253/1 The art of finding a rich friend to make a tour with you in autumn, and of leaving him to bear the lion's share of the expenses.

e. [1484 Caxton Fables of Auian (1889) 219 The fourthe fable is of the asse, and of the skynne of the Lyon.] 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. iii. 93 The man that once did sell the Lyons skin While the beast liu'd, was kill'd with hunting him. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Lion, Il n'y eut iamais bon marché de peaux de lions,..a Lyons skinne was neuer bought good cheape. 1636 Massinger Gt. Dk. Florence v. i, Reason assured me It was not safe to shave a lion's skin. 1700 Tyrrell Hist. Eng. II. 847 When the Lyon's Skin alone would not serve turn, he knew how to make it out with that of the Fox. 1711 [see ass n. 1 c].

f. 1774 Goldsm. Hist. Earth II. 322 This has given rise to the report of the jackall's being the lion's provider. 1808 Scott Let. to W. Gifford 25 Oct. in Lockhart, If you will accept of my services as a sort of jackal or lion's provider. 1823 Byron Juan ix. xxvii, The poor jackals..(As being the brave lion's keen providers). 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. (1858) 14 Old Lieschen..was his..cook, errand-maid, and general lion's-provider.

  3. fig. (chiefly after biblical usage; cf. Rev. v. 5). a. Taken (in a good sense) as the type of one who is strong, courageous, or fiercely brave.
  the Lion of the North, Gustavus Adolphus.

c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 131 Þa streonge leo þet wes þes liuiȝendes godes sune. [1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9384 Is mouþ is as a leon, is herte arn as an hare.] c 1325 Poem Times Edw. II, 252 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 334 Nu ben theih liouns in halle, and hares in the feld. c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 1225 At the palȝoun, quhar thai the lyoun [sc. Wallace] saw. 1579–80 North Plutarch, Comp. Lys. & Sylla (1595) 522 Lyons at home, and Foxes abroade. 1589 [see lamb n. 2 b]. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iii. 7 He, my Lyon, and my noble Lord. 1599 Kyd Sol. & Pers. ii. 61 Wks. (1901) 167 English Archers..Eclipped Lyons of the Westerne worlde. 1607 Shakes. Cor. i. i. 239 He is a Lion That I am proud to hunt. 1632 Lithgow Trav. 504 The Lyon..whose Sire, was surnam'd Dowglas. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXIII. 396/1 The campaigns..of the Lion of the North, till his fall in the moment of triumph at Lützen. 1863 Woolner My Beautiful Lady 132 The manliest, and king of English kings, The lion Cromwell, in his dress of war.

  b. In a bad sense: A fiercely cruel, tyrannical or ‘devouring’ creature or person.
  Partly after biblical uses: cf. Ps. xxxiv. 17, lvi. 4, 1 Pet. v. 8, etc.

a 1225 St. Marher. 6 Ant tu grisliche gra þu luðere liun lað godd. a 1225 Ancr. R. 120 Wummone wroð is wuluene, & mon wroð is wulf, oðer leun. 1340 Ayenb. 17 Prede is king of wyckede þeawes. Hy is þe lioun þet al uorzuelþ. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxiv. (Arb.) 299 A Lyon among sheepe and a sheepe among Lyons. 1683 Tryon Way to Health xiv. (1697) 273 All such as would have the bestial, savage Nature strengthen'd.., and have a mind to be Lions and Devils..to their own kind. 1832 H. Blunt Hist. Paul (ed. 2) I. 40 That the lion had become a lamb, that the persecutor was now a humble and inquiring believer.

  † c. (See quot.) Obs.

1713 Addison Guardian No. 71 ¶2 We polite men of the town give the name of a lion to any one that is a great man's spy. Ibid. ¶7 A lion, or a master-spy, hath several jack-calls under him.

  4. a. pl. Things of note, celebrity, or curiosity (in a town, etc.); sights worth seeing: esp. in phr. to see, or show, the lions. † In early use, to have seen the lions often meant to have had experience of life.
  This use of the word is derived from the practice of taking visitors to see the lions which used to be kept in the Tower of London. See the introductory quots.

[1629 Capt. Smith True Trav. xviii. (Arb.) 872 After, one Master John Bull.., with divers of his friends, went to see the Lyons [in the Tower]. 1731 Fielding Lottery iii. Wks. 1882 VIII. 480, I must see all the curiosities; the Tower, the lions, and Bedlam, and the court, and the opera. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) vii. lxviii, Escorting two or three coaches full of country-cousins..to the Lions, the Wax-work, the Monument, &c.]

1590 Greene Neuer too Late (1600) 34 Francesco was no other but a meere nouice, and that so newly, that to vse the olde prouerbe, he had scarce seene the Lions. 1600 B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. v. ii. Wks. 1616 I. 242 Amo. You come not to giue vs the scorne, Monsieur? Mer. Nor to be frighted with a face, Signior! I haue seene the lyons. 1622 J. Taylor (Water-P.) Water-Cormorant Wks. 1630 iii. 5 Some say [of a Drunkard] hee's bewitcht, or scratcht, or blinde,..Or seene the Lyons, or his nose is dirty. 1770 Jenner Placid Man (1773) I. 119 It made no inconsiderable figure amongst the Lions of Bath. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia i. viii, Mr. Monckton..asked Morrice why he did not shew the lyons. 1792 T. Twining Recr. & Stud. (1882) 157, I suppose the lions of Nottingham are public, accessible lions, and require no interest to get sight of. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas v. i. ¶6 The churches were the best lions we met with in our way. 1810 Scott Let. to J.B.S. Morritt 9 Aug. in Lockhart, The cavern at Staffa..is one of the few lions which completely maintain an extended reputation. 1840 Hood Up Rhine 96 The rest of the day was spent in seeing the Lions—and first the Cathedral. 1859 Jephson Brittany viii. 123 He was polite..and showed the lions very good-naturedly. 1864 ‘C. Bede’ in Lond. Soc. VI. 27/1 That celebrated collection of lions of which his University can show so complete a menagerie in her College Halls, Bodleian [etc.].

  b. Hence: A person of note or celebrity who is much sought after.

1715 Lady M. W. Montagu Town Eclogues, Tuesday, Fops of all kinds, to see the Lion, run; The beauties stay till the first act's begun. 1774 F. Burney Early Diary (1889) I. 311 The present Lyon of the times, according to the author of ‘the Placid Man's’ term, is Omy, the native of Otaheite. 1815 Lady Granville Lett. (1894) I. 67 [At a ball.] The King of Prussia is the only Royal lion. 1838 Lytton Alice vi. i, The literary lion who likes to be petted. 1850 Thackeray Contrib. to Punch Wks. 1886 XXIV. 251 What is a lion? A lion is a man or woman one must have at one's parties. 1889 T. A. Trollope What I remember III. 131 Longfellow..largely paid the poet's penalty of being made the lion of all the drawing rooms.

  † c. Oxford slang. A visitor to Oxford. ? Obs.

1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar Tongue, Lion..a name given by the gownsmen of Oxford, to inhabitants or visitors. 1785 R. Cumberland Observer No. 95 ¶4, I did not excel in any of my academical exercises, save that of circumambulating the colleges and public buildings with strangers..; in this branch of learning I gained such general reputation as to be honoured with the title of Keeper of the Lions. 1807 Southey Espriella's Lett. II. xxxii. 60 [The young student] had abstained from visiting many things himself, till he should have a lion to take with him. 1818 T. Ward Strictures Charac. Barristers (ed. 2) 45 To the amusement of the Nobility and Gentry visiting Oxford, the latter of whom are known by the University men by the appellation of Lions and Lioness's, when observed in the streets with an Oxford Guide in their hand, or gaping about.

  † d. (See quot.) Obs.

1785 G. A. Bellamy Apol. II. 68 Just under him, in the pit, sat a lion [Footnote, A term at that time in vogue for a cit].

  5. a. An image or picture of a lion. (A favourite sign for inns and taverns: usually Red, White, Golden, etc. Lion.)

? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 894 Y-painted al..with briddes, libardes, and lyouns. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) viii. 86 Lyouns of Gold. 1487 Will in Paston Lett. III. 464 An hanging bed, with a lyon thereupon. 1534 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 118 Ye marke which ye Mayor..had striken in ye..butchers waytes,..which marke was ye lyon and crowne. 1562 in Welch Tower Bridge (1894) 83 To one that brought home a lyone blowen downe upon London Bridge, 4d. 1564–78 W. Bullein Dial. agst. Pest. (1888) 18 Bearyng upon his breast a white Lion. 1611 Coryat Crudities (1776) I. 237 A great red flagge..with the winged Lyon made in it in gold. 1745 P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 21 The Lion was very loose, and would certainly have been lost but for..two strong Supporters..fix'd from the Ship's Bows to secure him. 1838 Murray's Hand-bk. N. Germ. 376 A colossal lion, of cast iron. 1855 Tennyson Daisy 55 Porch-pillars on the lion resting, And sombre, old, colonnaded aisles.

  b. spec. in Her.

c 1320 Sir Tristr. 1040 Wiþ alaunce..He smot him in þe lyoun, And tristrem,..Bar him þurch þe dragoun In þe scheld. c 1400 Destr. Troy 5927 Thre lions the lord bare all of light goulis. 1449 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 222 The White Lioun [i.e. the Duke of Norfolk] is leyde to slepe. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. v. 28 Hark, countrymen! either renew the fight, Or tear the lions out of England's coat. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. v. 265 The Lionis, quhilkes the kingis of Scotis weiris in thair armes. 1805 Scott Last Minstr. iv. xxiii, The lion argent decked his breast. 1813 Gentl. Mag. LXXXIII. 37/2 With supporters (lion and unicorn) of the Royal arms. 1868 Cussans Her. vi. (1882) 84 Three Lions passant-guardant in pale or, on a field gules, constitute the Arms of England.

  c. British Lion, the lion as the national emblem of Great Britain; hence often used fig. for the British nation. Similarly Scottish lion.

1687 Dryden Hind & P. 1. 289 Such mercy from the British Lyon flows. 1796 Burke Regic. Peace iii. Wks. VIII. 293 He would no longer amuse the British Lion in the chace of mice and rats. 1806 Naval Chron. XV. 52 Each [of the seamen] appeared a true-bred cub of the British Lion. 1849 W. E. Aytoun Lays Sc. Caval., Heart Bruce xxv, We'll let the Scottish lion loose Within the fields of Spain! 1853 Lytton My Novel xii. xxv. IV. 174 The British Lion is aroused! 1859 Thackeray Virgin. lxiv, The British Lion, or any other lion, cannot always have a worthy enemy to combat, or a battle royal to deliver.

  6. a. A gold coin current in Scotland down to the reign of James VI. b. A Scottish copper coin = hardhead². Obs. exc. Hist.

1451 Sc. Acts Jas. II (1814) II. 40/1 Item þ{supt} þare be strikyn ane new penny of golde callit a lyon w{supt} þe prent of þe lyon on þe ta side & the ymage of Sanct Andro on þe toþer side... And þat þe said new lyon..sall ryn for vjs. viijd. of the said new mone. a 1557 Diurn. Occurr. (Bannatyne Club) 344 Lyounis vtherwayes callit hardheidis. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 365 (MS. G) Daylie thair was suche numbers of Lions (alias called Hardheids) prented, that [etc.]. 1899 Grueber Handbk. Coins Gt. Brit. & Irel. 169, 184.

  7. The constellation and zodiacal sign Leo. Also Little Lion: the constellation Leo Minor.

c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 330 Next at this opposicion Which in the signe shal be of the leon. 1509 Hawes Past Pleas. xliv. (Percy Soc.) 216 Out of the Lyon to enter the Vyrgyne. 1697 Creech Manilius ii. 44 The Lion..The squeezing Crab, and stinging Scorpion. 1868 Lockyer Guillemin's Heavens (ed. 3) 326 To conclude our examination of the constellations visible on the 22nd of March at midnight, we must notice..the Little Lion above the Lion.

  † 8. lion of the sea: a. ? A kind of lobster (cf. F. lion de mer). b. = sea-lion. Obs.

1598 Epulario G iij b, To dresse the fish called the Lion of the sea. 1772 Ann. Reg. 92/1 These sea-wolves, which he calls lions.

  † 9. Alchemy. Green lion: a ‘spirit’ of great transmuting power, supposed to be produced by certain processes in alchemy; sometimes identified with the ‘philosophical mercury’. Obs.

1471 Ripley Comp. Alch. Recapitulation in Ashmole Theatr. Chem. Brit. (1652) 188 The Spottyd Panther wyth the Lyon greene. 15.. A. Andrewes (title) in Ibid., 278 Hunting of the Greene Lyon. 1593 G. Harvey Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 69 He would seeme to haue the Green Lion and the flying Eagle in a box. 1605 Timme Quersit. i. xiii. 53 A greene sharpe spirit... This is that greene lyon which Rypley commendeth so much. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. ii. ii, Your generall colours, sir, Of the pale citron, the greene lyon, the crow, The peacocks taile.

  10. attrib. and Comb.: a. simple attrib., as lion-colour, lion-cub, lion-kind, lion-king, lion-lair, lion-limb, lion-mask, lion-paw, lion-skin, lion-whelp; b. objective, as lion-keeper, lion-stalking, lion-tamer, lion-taming; c. similative, as lion-bold, lion-coloured, lion-sick adjs. (see also 12); d. parasynthetic, as lion-faced, lion-footed, lion-headed, lion-hued, lion-maned, lion-mettled, lion-thoughted, lion-throated adjs.; e. instrumental, as lion-guarded, lion-haled, lion-haunted adjs.

1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 21 Wisemen stout, and stung, grow *Lion-bold.

1551–2 Act 5 & 6 Edw. VI, c. 6 §23 Anye other color or colors then..*lyon color motteley or iren grey. 1662 Merrett tr. Neri's Art of Glass xlii, In the bottom there will remain a Lion colour.

1920 E. Pound Hugh Selwyn Mauberley 25 The coral isle, the *lion-coloured sand. 1964 Listener 30 July 163/3 Sun-swept, lion-coloured plains.

1727 Gay Fables I. xix. 13–14 A *Lyon-cub, of sordid mind, Avoided all the lyon-kind.

1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain ii. xix. 551 He leant on his *lion-faced boy's arm, and walked down to the Minster. 1919 W. S. Maugham Moon & Sixpence lv. 242 A look—how shall I describe it?—the books call it lion-faced. 1946 R. Graves Poems 1938–45 35 The Lion-faced Boy at the Fair.

1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God 686 Ausonius makes her [i.e. the Sphynx]..*Lyon-footed.

1898 J. Davidson Last Ballad etc. (1899) 149 The trader and the usurer Have passed the *lion-guarded door.

1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxiii. 76 Cybele, the thong relaxing from a *lion-haled yoke.

1870 Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 239 The *lion-haunted woods.

1864 Pusey Lect. Daniel iii. 115 The human-headed lions and bulls, and perhaps conversely, the *lion-headed men were religious, not political symbols at all.

1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Leonado, *lion hued, fuluus.

a 1843 Southey Comm.-pl. Bk. Ser. ii. 645 If one of these lions enraged is going to assail the spectators, the *lion⁓keepers hold under his nose the confiture of Gazelles' meat [etc.].

1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) II. 188 Representations of human victorys over the *lion-kind. 1727 [see lion-cub].

1971 D. Beaty Temple Tree 232 Reincarnation. The new *Lion King of Ceylon. 1972 Times 29 June 16/4 Their epics extol the ‘Lion-king’ Sundiata who founded the Manding Empire.

1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 361 Nineveh was still one vast *lion-lair.

1885 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1918) 62 Why wouldst thou..lay a *lionlimb against me?

1851 H. Melville Whale lxxxvii. 428 The *lion-maned buffaloes of the West.

1906 Westm. Gaz. 9 May 8/2 A large vase decorated with *lion-masks. 1933 Burlington Mag. July 36/1 The cabriole legs with their goats' heads and lion masks.

1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. i. 90 Be *Lyon metled, proud.

1934 Burlington Mag. Oct. p. xv/2 The tripod terminates in *lion-paw feet. 1972 Country Life 15 June (Suppl.) 43/2 Regency Rosewood Bookcase with..brass lion paw feet.

1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. ii. iii. 93 He is not sicke. Aia. Yes, *Lyon sicke, sicke of proud heart.

1805 Southey Ballads & Metr. Tales Poet Wks. VI. 267 He could have swallowed Hercules, Club, *lion⁓skin, and all.

1890 ‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Miner's Right xliv, We are graciously permitted..to try a little *lion-stalking in Algeria.

1798 W. Sotheby tr. Wieland's Oberon v. viii, O'er me the *lion-tamer holds his hand.

1870 O. Logan Before Footlights 354 After stating that *lion-taming was a gift of nature with him. 1944 Mind LIII. 162 Others found it [sc. welfare] wholly comprehended in trout-fishing and lion-taming.

1820 Keats Hyperion ii. 68 Tiger-passion'd, *lion-thoughted, wroth.

1927 E. Sitwell Rustic Elegies 91 Where two *lion-throated fountains fell. 1957 R. Campbell Coll. Poems II. 56 From lion-throated blooms ablaze.

a 1300 E.E. Psalter ciii. 22 *Lyoun whelpes..seke fra god mete vnto þa. 14.. Wyclif's Gen. xlix. 9 (MS. S) Judas a lyoun whelp. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 98 The portal-warding lion-whelp, And peacock-yewtree of the lonely Hall.

  11. a. Special comb.: lion-ant, the same as ant-lion; † lion-cat, an Angora cat; † lion comique Obs., a leading comic singer in a music-hall or the like; † lion-cudweed, the Edelweiss (see lion's foot in b); lion dance, a traditional Chinese dance in which the dancers are masked and costumed to resemble lions; so lion dancer; lion dog [after F. chien-lion (Buffon)], a variety of dog having a flowing mane; also, a dog belonging to one of several breeds resembling miniature lions in colour or type of fur, or once used for hunting in country inhabited by lions; lion-dollar (see dollar 5): lion-dragon, a heraldic beast having the fore-part like a lion and the hind part like a wyvern; lion forceps (see quot.); lion-head, a variety of goldfish, Carassius auratus, having an enlarged head; lion house, a building in which lions are kept at a zoo; lion-hunter, one who hunts lions; one who is given to lionizing celebrities; lion-hunting, the action of a lion-hunter, lit. and fig. (in quot. † going in quest of the ‘lions’ of a place); lion-huntress, a female ‘lion-hunter’; † lion-leopard (F. lion léoparde), a lion passant guardant; = leopard 3 b; lion-lizard, the basilisk, its crest being compared to a lion's mane; lion marmoset, a small Brazilian monkey, Leontideus rosalia; = lion-monkey, marikina; lion-monkey, the marikina or silky marmoset; † lion noble = 6 a; lion-poisson Her. [F. poisson fish] (see quot. 1868); lion-show jocular, a gathering of ‘lions’ or celebrities; lion-skinned a., clothed in a lion's skin, fig. with allusion to the ass in the fable (cf. 2 e); † lion-string, some kind of string for musical instruments; lion-tailed baboon, monkey, the wanderoo (Macacus silenus); lion-tawny a., of the tawny colour characteristic of lions; also n.; lion-tiger, used attrib. of a cub bred between a lion and a tiger.

1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VII. 323 Of the Formica Leo, or *Lion-Ant. 1845 Darwin Voy. Nat. xix. (1852) 442 note, This Australian pit-fall was only about half the size of that made by the European lion-ant.

1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1862) I. iv. i. 359 The *lion cat; or as others more properly term it, the cat of Angora.

1899 Beerbohm More 120 The *Lion Comique bawled out..some such crude, conventional ditty. 1927 Observer 11 Dec. 8 When did the music-hall die?.. Where is the ‘lion comique’..?

1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cxcv. §10. 517 Leontopodium siue Pes Leoninus, *Lion Cudweede.

1937 N.Y. Times 10 Feb. 2 The parades, according to a spokesman from the Chinese Benevolent Association, will take the form of *lion dances. 1952 W. Eberhard Chinese Festivals i. 57 The ‘lion dance’..we still see in the streets of old Peking—and sometimes even in San Francisco's Chinatown. 1964 Catal. National Museum Kuala Lumpur 5/2 (caption) Lion dance tableau, authentically North China, is one of several in one main gallery. 1966 D. Forbes Heart of Malaya vi. 77 The Boat People of Hong Kong feast..with roast pig, lion dances and boat races on the twenty-third day of the third moon in our month of April. 1968 Encycl. Brit. VII. 33/1 In China itself there may be lotus dances, stilt dances, butterfly dances, lion dances (inspired by Buddhist stories from the parts of India where lions are known).

1927 Bredon & Mitrophanow Moon Year xii. 394 Akin to the strolling players are the ‘*Lion Dancers’ who wander from village to village. Each troupe is composed of two or three mountebanks with rude but picturesque properties. 1975 Times 17 Feb. 3/3 London's Chinatown in Soho celebrated the Chinese new year yesterday... Lion Dancers..wound and jigged all day around Gerrard Street.

1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1824) II. i. 9 The *Lion Dog greatly resembles that animal, in miniature, from whence it takes the name. 1845 Youatt Dog 50 The Lion Dog..The origin of this breed is not known; it is, perhaps, an intermediate one between the Maltese and the Turkish dog. 1921 V. W. F. Collier Dogs China & Japan xii. 183 Tibetan lion-dogs are bred to resemble lions, and they, like the Chinese, appear to be willing to call any shaggy coated dog a lion-dog. 1938 E. C. Ash New Bk. Dog x. 430 Tibetan Lhasa Apso... This being the true Tibetan Lion-dog, golden or lion-like colours are preferred. Ibid. xi. 466 (caption) A Rhodesian Ridgeback (Lion Dog). 1958 Bk. Dogs (Nat. Geographic Soc.) 354/2 Ancient ancestors of the Peke were honored dogs of the imperial palace in Peking... At ceremonies two of these Lion Dogs preceded the emperor, two followed. 1971 Dangerfield & Howell Internat. Encycl. Dogs 284/1 Many breeds have been called lion dogs. With the exception of the Rhodesian Ridgeback, these have all been small dogs with a real, or imagined, lion-like aspect.

1697 Virginia St. Papers (1875) I. 52 Dollers, comonly called *Lyon or Dog Dollers, have no vallue ascertained whereby they may pass currantly amongst the inhabitants of this County.

1610 J. Guillim Heraldry iii. xxvi. 183 *Lions-dragons, Lions-Poisons, and whatsoeuer other double shaped animall of any two..of the..kinds before handled.

1864 P. Holme Syst. Surg. IV. 1045 The ‘*lion forceps’ of Fergusson..is a strong straight forceps provided with two sets of teeth..by which it obtains a firm hold on a bone.

1928 Daily Express 5 July 8 Fancy goldfish can be very expensive... I paid {pstlg}30 each for a *lionhead and an oranda recently. 1972 Y. Matsui Goldfish Guide xi. 176 The premier goldfish is the Ronchū or Lionhead.

1895 C. J. Cornish Life at Zoo 64 The present *Lion House, with its fine outdoor summer palaces, and its indoor winter cages..seems to leave nothing to be desired. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 30 Jan. 7/1 We had better get them to the lion-house. 1974 Times 29 Apr. 10/8 Work to replace the outdated Lion House could not be started.

1829 R. C. Sands Writings (1834) II. 199 During the interval..two *lion-hunters..came into the box and introduced themselves. 1839 Penny Cycl. XIV. 32/1 (art. Lion) The dangers and hair-breadth escapes of the lion-hunters. 1840 Carlyle Heroes (1858) 330 These Lion-hunters were the ruin and death of Burns. [Cf. the name ‘Mrs. Leo Hunter’ in Dickens Pickwick (1837).]. 1878 Athenæum 19 Jan. 81/2 Keats, the obscure medical student, who died before a single lion-hunter had found him out.

1770 Jenner Placid Man (1773) I. 120 *Lion-hunting..being the whole end and design of travelling.

1828 Scott Jrnl. 1 July (1941) 271 A professed *lion-huntress, who travels the country to rouse the peaceful beasts out of their lair. 1850 Thackeray in Punch 24 Aug. 89 The Lion-Huntress of Belgravia. Being Lady Nimrod's Journal of the Past Season. 1926 A. Huxley Two or Three Graces 229 The old familiar stories about that famous lion-huntress were being repeated.

1612 Selden Notes on Drayton's Poly-olb. xi. 182 Being blazon'd in Hierom de Bara, and other French heralds, *Lion-Leopards.

1707 W. Funnell Voy. ii. 35 A large sort of Lizard called a *Lion-lizard. 1738 Mortimer in Phil. Trans. XL. 347 Lacertus griseus. The Lion Lizard.

1906 Westm. Gaz. 19 Feb. 12/2 Here may be seen the beautiful *lion marmoset from Brazil. 1936 E. G. Boulenger Apes & Monkeys vii. 195 Of the long-tusked marmosets, two of the most ornate are the ‘emperor’ and the ‘lion’... The lion is one of the most vividly coloured of all mammals, the long silky fur being of a flaming orange hue. 1965 Amer. Jrnl. Physical Anthropol. XXIII. 261 (title) The skull of the lion marmoset, Leontideus rosalia Linnaeus.

1803 Sarrett New Pict. Lond. 115 In one of the glass cases is a beautiful *lion-monkey.

1586 Min. Privy C. 10 Dec. in Burns Coinage Scot. (1887) II. 389 *Lyoun noblis. 1887 Burns ibid. 388 Lion nobles or Scottish angels. 1610 *Lion-Poisons [see lion-dragon]. 1868 Cussans Her. vi. (1882) 101 The Lion-poisson, or Sea-lion, which has the head and shoulders of a Lion, with fins for paws, and the nowed tail of a Fish for a body.

1839 Lockhart Scott (1869) III. xix. 186 note, Mr. Coleridge's own stately account of this *lion-show in Grosvenor Street.

1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 596 Hail, glorious Liberty!.. *Lion-skinned Freethinking, safe affector of thy bravery..claims to be the sole gatherer up of thy spoils.

1659 Howell Vocab. l. Sig. Y yyyyyy, Wire strings, gut strings, venice catlings, nimikins, *Lion strings; Diverse sorti di corde.

1781 Pennant Quadrupeds I. 183 *Lion-tailed Baboon. Ibid. Plate xxii, Lion tailed Monky. 1893 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. I. 113 The Lion-Tailed Monkey (Macacus silenus)..These monkeys inhabit the Malabar, or Western, Coast of India.

1573 Art of Limming 8 If you mingle redde Lead and Masticot together, you shal have thereof a *Lyon tawney. 1611 Cotgr., Lionnin.., of a Lyon-tawnie colour. 1885 Burton Arab. Nts. (1886) I. Foreword 7 The boundless waste of lion-tawny clays and gazelle-brown gravels.

1839 Penny Cycl. XIV. 35/1 *Lion-Tiger Cubs.

  b. Combinations with lion's (mostly plant-names): † lion's claw, (a) Black Hellebore, Helleborus niger; (b) a kind of oyster; lion's ear, ‘a common name in the Andes for some species of Culcitium; also Espeletia and Leonotis’ (Treas. Bot. 1866); lion's foot, (a) Lady's Mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris; (b) Black Hellebore; (c) the genus Leontopodium, esp. L. alpinum, the Edelweiss; lion's heart, a plant of the U.S., Physostegia virginiana; lion's leaf, any plant of the genus Leontice, esp. L. Leontopetalum; lion's leap, an acrobatic leap or somersault; cf. F. sault du lion (Cotgr.); lion's mouth, a name for Antirrhinum majus; lion's paw = lion's foot; lion's snap = lion's mouth; lion's tail, (a) the plant Leonotis Leonurus, from the supposed resemblance of the inflorescence to the tuft of a lion's tail; (b) Motherwort, Leonurus Cardiaca; lion's tooth or teeth, the Dandelion; † lion's turnip, = lion's leaf.

1611 Cotgr. s.v. Lion, Patte de lion, *Lyons claw, Setter⁓wort, Settergrasse, bastard blacke Ellebore. 1759 Mrs. Delany in Life & Corr. (1861) III. 560 Kind of oysters called the lion's claw.

1835 Booth Analyt. Dict. 261 Leonotis, *Lion's ear.

c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 98 Ðeos wyrt þe man pedem leonis, & oðrum naman *leon-fot nemneð. 1538 Turner Libellus, Lyons fote, Elleborum nigrum. 1611 Cotgr., Alchimille, Lionsfoot, Ladies mantle, great Sanicle.

1845 A. Wood Class-Bk. Bot. 282 Physostegia Virginiana... A beautiful plant native in Penn. and southward... *Lion's heart.

1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. iv. §4. 182 Plinie doth call it also Leontopetalon, Apuleius Leontopodion... In English *Lyons leafe and Lyons Turnep. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 317 Lion's-leaf, Leontice. 1882 J. Smith Dict. Plants 247 Lion's-leaf (Leontice Leontopetalum), a herbaceous plant of the Barberry family.

1883 Chamb. Jrnl. 131 The *lions-leap, flip-flap, &c., of the acrobat.

1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), *Lion's-Mouth, Lion's-Paw, Lion's-Tooth, several sorts of Herbs. 1773 Hist. Brit. Dom. North Amer. xi. iii. 189 The flower called the lion's-mouth..forms a sweet nosegay of itself, and is worthy the gardens of kings.

1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Pata de Leon, *Lions pawe, Leontopetalon. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 262 The leaues of Lions paw.

1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. clv. §4. 439 Snapdragon is called..in English Calues snout, Snapdragon, and *Lyons snap.

1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 317 *Lion's-tail, Leonurus.

1562 W. Bullein Def. agst. Sickness (1579) 10 The vertue of Dandelion or *Lyons teeth. 1886 Britten & Holland Plant-n., Lion's teeth, Leontodon Taraxacum. 1597 *Lyons Turnep [see lion's leaf]. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Lion, Some also tearme Lyons leafe, and Lyons Turnep, pes Lioninus.

  12. attrib. passing into adj. = ‘lion-like; characteristic of a lion; strong, brave, or fierce as a lion’.

1614 B. Jonson Barth. Fair ii. iii. (1631) 21 You shall not fright me with your Lyon-chap. 1671 Milton Samson 139 The bold Ascalonite Fled from his Lion ramp. 1681 Dryden Sp. Fryar i. 1 Pox o' this Lyon-way of wooing though. Ibid. iv. 57 Gross Feeders, Lion talkers, Lamb-like fighters. 1752 Young Brothers i. i. Wks. 1757 II. 205 We'll seek his lion Sire, Who dares to frown on us, his conquerors. 1757 Gray Bard. 117 Her lion-port, her awe-commanding face. 1795 J. Fawcett Art of War 31 The savage soldier..Nurs'd in no silken lap, his lion-nerves, Strings strong as steel. 1813 Shelley Q. Mab viii. 196 The jackal of ambition's lion-rage. 1824 Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. 274 May,..barking in her tremendous lion-note, and putting down the other noises like a clap of thunder. 1842 Tennyson Eng. & Amer. in 1782, 3 Strong mother of a Lion-line. 1849 Blackw. Mag. Feb. 156 This true soldier..had fallen in that lion-rush which Richard made at his foe. 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 266 Jonah feared not the fierceness of their lion-nature, but God's tenderness.

  
  
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   Add: [4.] e. pl. Members of a Lions Club (see sense *11 c below); also (const. as sing.) = *Lions Club.

1949 Casey & Douglas World's Biggest Doers iv. 32 The last mentioned of these qualities, Fidelity, has a deep and peculiar significance for all Lions. 1964 Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 5 Jan. (1970) 30 We drove to the little house in Johnson City..where, hopefully,..Kiwanis, or Lions, or ladies' groups, or whatever can hold their meetings. 1972 Stand. Encycl. S. Afr. VI. 652/1 Lions is a non-political organisation for service to the under-privileged. 1986 Horse & Rider Sept. 8/4 The Watford Lions' 10th annual sponsored horse ride.

  [5.] d. pl. (With capital initial.) Also British Lions. The name of the British Isles rugby union team or squad, composed of members selected from the ‘home’ international teams, when touring abroad. Also in sing., a member of the British Lions.

1938 Star (Johannesburg) 16 Sept. 30/5 There will be a big crowd to watch the game between the ‘Lions’ and the representatives of Capetown [sic.] and Stellenbosch Universities. The British victory in the Test last week has stimulated booking. 1955 Times 13 Sept. 9/4 All followers of Rugby football will have been greatly heartened by the outstanding success of the ‘Lions’ in South Africa. 1973 Stand. Encycl. S. Afr. IX. 432/1 The ordering off of a Lion at Springs. 1974 Country Life 9 May 1134/1 The British Lions, representing the best players from the four home countries... The most recent Lions tours have been in 1968 to South Africa and in 1971 to New Zealand. 1986 Open Rugby Sept. 33/2 The ‘Lions’ moved next to South Australia and Victoria. 1990 Daily Star 23 Oct. 34/1 England have axed British Lions Brian Moore and Mike Teague for the clash against Argentina.

  [11.] c. Lions Club, any of numerous associated clubs devoted to social and international service, the first of which was founded in Chicago in 1917. orig. U.S.

1922 Collier's 29 Apr. 5/2 It had a civic association, and Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lion Clubs. 1971 ‘E. Lathen’ Longer the Thread iii. 28 A member of the Real Estate Department attended the Lions Club luncheon at the Caribe Hilton. 1976 M. Apple Oranging of Amer. 100 Cut flowers bloomed from the carcasses of dried-out batteries. The Lions Club glass and the March of Dimes cup twinkled in their fullness. 1988 Oxf. Times 29 Apr. 13/3 The Lions Club of Oxford is helping to organise a special diabetes information day. 1992 Times of India 30 July 14/2 The Children's Education Trust of India..has invited Applications from eligible students, studying any where in the country, directly or through schools or Lions Clubs for selection to the Country's Most Prestigious A.I.T.S. Award-92.

Oxford English Dictionary