Dictionary

lionly en · ADJ

Etymology

From lion + -ly.

Meanings

1. Resembling or characteristic of a lion, for example in fierceness.
   • Lionly strength expresses independence of will and a restless wandering based in deep curiosity and intense perception. 1998, Lee Irwin, Gnostic Tarot:
   • For although I ſaid before, that the Church coveting to ride upon the lionly form of Juriſdiction, makes a transformation of herſelf into an Aſs, and becomes deſpicable... 1738, John Milton, “The Reaſon of Church-Government Urg'd againſt Prelaty, Book II”, in A Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works of John Milton, London: A. Millar, →OL, page 66:
   • Upon these interjections, placable flicks of the lionly tail addressed to Britannia the Ruler, who expected him in some mildish way to lash terga cauda in retiring, Sir Willoughby Patterne passed from a land of alien manners; […] 1879, George Meredith, The Egoist:
   • Picture these lionly lovers jumping through romantic hoops, otherwise known as the initial courtship phase, and then a disagreement or difference of opinion occurs. 2015, Brad Kronen, Love in the Stars:
   • The destructive lionly skepticism burns all bridges to prior beliefs and presuppositions. 1994, George David Miller, An Idiosyncratic Ethics:

Forms

Synonyms

leonine · lionlike · lionesque