Where does “lioness” come from?
Lioness comes from Middle English lionesse, from Old French lionesse, from Latin leonissa, from Ancient Greek leonissa, ultimately from Ancient Greek leon meaning lion.
lioness (English): A female lion
Definitions
- A female lion
Ancestry of “lioness”, step by step
lioness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English lion
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | lion | A big cat, "Panthera leo", native to Africa,... |
| 2 | French | Lion | Leo (constellation) |
| 3 | Italian | Leone | Leo |
| 4 | Spanish | león | lion; antlion; a brave person |
| 5 | Latin | legiō | A legion |
| 6 | Latin | legō | to collect, gather, bring together, catch |
| 7 | Latin | lēx | a proposition or motion for a law made to the people by a magistrate, a bill |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | lēg- | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ-s | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |
via Middle English leonesse
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | leonesse | — |