leonine

leonine · adjective¹

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromλέων“lion”
2. Latin · derived fromleōnīnus“of or pertaining to a lion”
3. Old French · derived fromleonin
4. Middle English · inherited fromleonin, leonine“characteristic of a lion, lionlike”
5. English todayleonine

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’).

leonine · adjective, noun²

1. Latin · derived fromleōnīnus
2. Middle English · inherited fromleonin
3. English todayleonine

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.

leonine · noun³

1. Latin · derived fromleōnīnus
2. Medieval Latin · learned borrowing fromleōnīna
3. English todayleonine

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.

Words from the same roots