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Hear us roar! Most people or characters described as leonine aren’t cowardly (with one famous exception, of course), but rather noble, strong, regal, or possessed of similarly positive virtues associated with pride-forming big cats. Leonine clawed its way into the English language from the Latin word leo (“lion”), which in turn comes from the Greek word leōn. Today, we have an interesting range of words that relate back to leōn: leopard (leōn + pardos, a Greek word for a panther-like animal); chameleon (leōn + the Greek chamai, meaning “on the ground”); and the names Leo, Leon, and Leonard. But the dancer’s and gymnast’s leotard is not named for its wearer’s cat-like movements. Rather, it was simply named after its inventor, Jules Léotard, a 19th-century French aerial gymnast.
Examples of leonine in a Sentence
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 Mar. 2025
As Governor Connally waved his big Stetson, revealing a leonine head of gray hair, the cheers swelled for him, too.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2021
Most famously, leonine tenor saxophonist Von Freeman remains a symbol of the music even after his death here in 2012, at age 88.
—Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 22 Sep. 2019
My flutter of fear caused by Morrison’s daunting, leonine presence, at the beginning of the semester, quickly settled into cheerful enthusiasm.
—Troy Patterson, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2019
Both young and old, Douglass had magnificent, leonine looks.
—Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Apr. 2018
At the end of Donatella’s tribute the models created a tableau at the foot of the runway, posed like Greek statues in their chain mail dresses, leonine waves of hair cascading down their backs.
—Kate Betts, Town & Country, 31 Jan. 2018
An avid collector of leonine objects throughout her life, the designer scattered them throughout her apartment at 31 Rue Cambon.
—Vogue, 23 Jan. 2018
Louis, a slight Frenchman with jawbone sideburns and a leonine head of curls, would stroll by, comb and scissors in hand, and admonish his glamorous clients to flip their heads over in front of the mirror and shake out their dazzling tresses.
—Kate Betts, Town & Country, 4 Apr. 2016
Cite this Entry
“Leonine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leonine. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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leonine
adjective
Medical Definition
leonine
adjective
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