Meanings
plural kings of beasts
- idiomaticThe lion.
1 more example
“Who shot the lions?” Fred asked. / “Yours truly,” answered Terry. “I shot them with my little gun. I wouldn’t tell a lie for a dozen lions.” Nearly every one in the command laughed heartily, and gathered around to see the big game. The scouts told how Terry had brought the two kings of beasts down, each at a single shot.
1900 February 23, Hal Standish [pseudonym; Harvey King Shackleford], “Fred Fearnot in Johannesburg or, The Terrible Ride to Kimberley”, in Work and Win: An Interesting Weekly for Young America, number 64, New York, N.Y.: Frank Tousey, chapter VII (Terry’s Remarkable Exploit as a Lion Slayer), page 20, column 1Synonyms: King of the Jungle
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe lion.
More synonyms by meaning
nounlarge gregarious predatory feline of Africa and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishking of bestes
- Englishking of beasts
From Middle English king of bestes.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek βασιλεὺς τῶν θηρῶν, βασιλεὺς τῶν ζῴων
- βασιλεὺς τῶν θηρῶν (basileùs tôn thērôn)the lion
- βασιλεὺς τῶν ζῴων (basileùs tôn zōíōn)the lion
Arabic مَلِك الوُحُوش
- مَلِك الوُحُوش (malik al-wuḥūš)the lion
Bengali হায়ওয়ানের বাদশাহ
- হায়ওয়ানের বাদশাহ (haẏōẇaner badośah)the lion
Bulgarian цар на живо́тните
- цар на живо́тните (car na živótnite)the lion
Chinese Mandarin 國王野獸 /国王野兽
- 國王野獸 /国王野兽 (guówáng yěshòu)the lion
Czech král zvířat
- král zvířatthe lion
Danish dyrenes konge
- dyrenes kongethe lion
Esperanto reĝo de bestoj
- reĝo de bestojthe lion
Finnish eläinten kuningas
- eläinten kuningasthe lion
French roi des animaux
- roi des animauxthe lion
German König der Tiere
- König der Tierethe lion
Greek βασιλιάς των ζώων
- βασιλιάς των ζώων (vasiliás ton zóon)the lion
Hebrew מֶלֶךְ הַחַיּוֹת
- מֶלֶךְ הַחַיּוֹת (mélech haẖayyót)the lion
Hungarian állatok királya
- állatok királyathe lion
Icelandic konungur dýranna
- konungur dýrannathe lion
Italian re degli animali
- re degli animalithe lion
Japanese 百獣の王
- 百獣の王 (hyakujū no ō)the lion
Latin rēx animālium
- rēx animāliumthe lion
Latvian zvēru ķēniņš
- zvēru ķēniņšthe lion
Polish król zwierząt
- król zwierzątthe lion
Portuguese rei da selva, rei da floresta
- rei da selvathe lion
- rei da florestathe lion
- rei dos animaisthe lion
Romanian regele animalelor
- regele animalelorthe lion
Russian ца́рь звере́й
- ца́рь звере́й (cárʹ zveréj)the lion
Slovak kráľ zvierat
- kráľ zvieratthe lion
Spanish rey de la selva
- rey de la selvathe lion
Swedish djurens konung
- djurens konungthe lion
Turkish ormanlar kralı, hayvanlar kralı
- ormanlar kralıthe lion
- hayvanlar kralıthe lion
Ukrainian цар звірі́в, король звірі́в
- цар звірі́в (car zvirív)the lion
- король звірі́в (korolʹ zvirív)the lion
Cite this entry
king of beasts. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/king%20of%20beasts
“king of beasts.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/king%20of%20beasts. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “king of beasts,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/king%20of%20beasts.
Source: king of beasts on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.