Etymology

lion

L1I1O1N1

Today it means: A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe. Full definition →

Middle English lyoun ← Old French lion ← Latin leō
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromλέων
  2. Latin · derived fromleō
  3. Old French · derived fromlion
  4. Middle English · inherited fromlyoun
  5. English todaylion

From Middle English lyoun, lion, leon, borrowed from Old French lion, from Latin leō, (accusative: leōnem), from Ancient Greek λέων (léōn), of unclear origin. Doublet of Leo, leu, lev, and Lyon. Displaced Old English lēo, from the same Latin source.

Words from the same roots

Latinleō all →

leoLeonleulionelleontomorphic

Ancient Greekλέων all →

Leonleonineleontocephalic

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.