"lion" in seven languages
Meaninglion
Spanish
león
/leˈon/
masc.inherited
French
lion
/ljɔ̃/
masc.inherited
Italian
leone
/leˈone/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
leão
/leˈɐ̃w/
masc.inherited
Romanian
leu
/lew/
masc.inherited
plural: lei
From the nominative LEŌ; also the name of the Romanian currency.
Catalan
lleó
/ʎəˈo/
masc.inherited
English
lion
/ˈlaɪən/
from Latin/French · Anglo-Norman liun
English → ItalianlionleoneCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
LEŌNEM (nom. LEŌ)‘lion (from Greek léōn)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Italian keeps the full accusative with its -e; Spanish drops it, French shrinks the whole word to one syllable. The kingdom and city of León, though, come from LEGIŌNEM 'legion'.
English relatives: Leo, leonine, Leonard
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEl león es el rey de la selva.
- frLe lion est le roi de la jungle.
- itIl leone è il re della foresta.
- ptO leão é o rei da selva.
- roLeul e regele junglei.
- caEl lleó és el rei de la selva.
- enThe lion is the king of the jungle.