lionn.

Etymology: The modern form represents an adoption (first appearing c1200) of Anglo-Norman liun (French lion), a Common Romance word = Provençal leo, Spanish leon, Portuguese leão, Italian leone, lione < Latin leōnem, nominative leo, < Greek λέων (stem λεοντ-, perhaps altered from an earlier *λεϝον-). The Greek word was perhaps adopted from some foreign language; a noteworthy similarity of sound is presented by Hebrew lābī lion (plural l^ebā'īm), also occurring in the sense ‘lioness’ with the vocalization l^ebiyyā; compare also Egyptian labai, lawai lioness. The synonymous Greek λίς (compare Hebrew layish) is not etymologically connected. Before the adoption of the French word, English possessed forms directly representing the Latin leo, leōnem. The word was used, with difference of gender and inflection, both for ‘lion’ and ‘lioness’, the Latin leæna not having been adopted. Owing to the two-fold form of the Latin word in the nominative and the oblique case, the declension in Old English is irregular and variable. The recorded forms are: nominative singular léo (Anglian léa), genitive singular léon (Northumbrian masculine léas), dative singular léon, léone, léonan, accusative singular léon (feminine also léo), nominative, accusative plural léon, genitive plural léona, dative plural léoum, léom, léonum.The Latin word has been adopted into all the Germanic languages: compare Old Frisian lawa, Middle Dutch leuwe, lēwe (Dutch leeuw), Old High German lewo, lêwo, louwo, lio (Middle High German lēwe, leu, modern German löwe, leu), Old Norse león, lión (Middle Swedish leon, Swedish lejon, Danish løve from German). From Greek or Latin, but in some cases through Germanic as the immediate source, are the forms in the Balto-Slavonic languages: Lithuanian lëvas, liūtas, Latvian lauva, Old Church Slavonic lĭvŭ, Russian lev, Polish lew, Czech lev.