leonine
UK /ˈliːənaɪn/ · US /ˈliəˌnaɪn/ adjective, noun
Forms leonines lionine
- adjective Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a lion; lionlike.
- adjective (pathology) Of a facies (“a person's facial features”): resembling those of a lion as a result of some disease, especially a form of leprosy which causes leontiasis (“a medical condition characterized by an overgrowth of the cranial and facial bones”); also, of leprosy: causing a lionlike facies. “leonine facies”
- adjective Of or pertaining to one of the popes named Leo; specifically (in Leonine City), to Pope Leo IV (r. 847–855) who ordered the building of a wall around Vatican Hill to protect what is now Vatican City, or (in Leonine Prayers) to Pope Leo XIV (r. 2025–present).
- adjective (poetry) Being or relating to a kind of medieval Latin verse, generally alternative hexameter and pentameter, with rhyming at the middle and end of a line (that is, internal rhyme); also (by extension), of or relating to modern verse having internal rhyme. “leonine rhyme”
- noun (poetry, chiefly in the plural) Synonym of Leonine verse (“a kind of medieval Latin verse, generally alternative hexameter and pentameter, with rhyming at the middle and end of a line (that is, internal rhyme)”).
- noun (numismatics, historical) A 13th-century coin minted in Europe and used in England as a debased form of the sterling silver penny; it was outlawed under Edward I (reigned 1272–1307).
Synonyms
Etymology
From Late Middle English leonin, leonine (“characteristic of a lion, lionlike”), from Old French leonin, and from its etymon Latin leōnīnus (“of or pertaining to a lion”), from leō (“lion”) (from Ancient Greek λέων (léōn, “lion”); further etymology uncertain) + -īnus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’).
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English leonin, leonine (“of or pertaining to a person named Leo; specifically Pope Leo IV”), from Latin leōnīnus, from Leo (“man’s name”) (from leo (“lion”): see etymology 1) + -īnus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’).
Etymology 2, adjective sense 2 (“being or relating to a kind of verse with internal rhyme”) is said to refer to a (possibly apocryphal) medieval monk named Leo or Leonius who composed verse with this characteristic; his identity is uncertain, but the composer Léonin (also known as Leo, Leoninus, or Leonius; flourished 1135–1201) has been suggested. Alternatively, the word may refer to Pope Leo II (c. 611–683): see the c. 1760–1761 quotation.
The noun is derived from the adjective.
Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin leōnīna + English -ine (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). Leōnīna is a feminine singular form of Latin leōnīnus (see etymology 1), and may refer to the use of a lion motif on the coin: see the 1787 quotation.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Pertaining to, or characteristic of, the lion; as, a leonine look; leonine repacity.
Etymology [L. leoninus, fr. leo, leonis, lion: cf. F. léonin. See Lion.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “leonine”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details