lion

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A large carnivorous feline mammal (Panthera leo) of Africa and northwest India, having a short tawny coat, a tufted tail, and, in the male, a heavy mane around the neck and shoulders.
• noun A mountain lion.
• noun A very brave person.
• noun A person regarded as fierce or savage.
• noun A noted person; a celebrity.
• idiom (lion's share) The greatest or best part.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A silver and a gold coin of the Belgian provinces, struck in 1790. The value of the gold lion was about $6.50.
• noun A quadruped of the genus Felis, F. leo, the largest of all carnivorous animals, distinguished by its tawny or yellow color, a full flowing mane in the male, a tufted tail, and the disappearance of the feline markings in both sexes before they arrive at maturity.
• noun Figuratively, a lion-like person; a man possessing the courage, fierceness, etc., of a lion.
• noun [capitalized] In astronomy, a constellation and sign of the zodiac. See Leo, 1.
• noun In heraldry, a representation of a lion used as a bearing.
• noun A gold coin current in Scotland from the time of Robert III. to the reign of James VI.: so called from the lion on the obverse of the coin.
• noun A copper coin: same as hardhead, 2.
• noun An object of interest and curiosity; especially, a celebrated or conspicuous person who is much sought by society or by the public in general: as, to visit the lions of the place; such a one is the lion of the day.
• noun An imaginary danger, trumped up by cowardice or sloth.
• noun Any humble friend or follower who acts as a sycophant or foil to another.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun (Zoöl.) A large carnivorous feline mammal (Panthera leo, formerly Felis leo), found in Southern Asia and in most parts of Africa, distinct varieties occurring in the different countries. The adult male, in most varieties, has a thick mane of long shaggy hair that adds to his apparent size, which is less than that of the largest tigers. The length, however, is sometimes eleven feet to the base of the tail. The color is a tawny yellow or yellowish brown; the mane is darker, and the terminal tuft of the tail is black. In one variety, called the maneless lion, the male has only a slight mane.
• noun (Astron.) A sign and a constellation; Leo.
• noun An object of interest and curiosity, especially a person who is so regarded.
• noun (Zoöl.) the puma or cougar.
• noun (Zoöl.) the ant-lion.
• noun (Zoöl.) a fancy dog with a flowing mane, usually clipped to resemble a lion's mane.
• noun (Zoöl.) the basilisk.
• noun all, or nearly all; the best or largest part; -- from Æsop's fable of the lion hunting in company with certain smaller beasts, and appropriating to himself all the prey.
• noun a famous sculptured lion at Lucerne, Switzerland, designed by Thorwaldsen and dedicated in 1821 as a memorial to the Swiss Guards who fell defending Louis XVI. in the attack of the mob on the Tuileries, Aug. 10, 1792. The animal, which is hewn out of the face of a rock, is represented as transfixed with a broken spear and dying, but still trying to protect with its paw a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis of France.
• noun a winged lion, the emblem of the evangelist Mark, especially that of bronze surmounting a granite column in the Piazzetta at Venice, and holding in its fore paws an open book representing St. Mark's Gospel.
• noun Gustavus Adolphus (1594-1632), King of Sweden, the hero of the Protestant faith in the Thirty Years' War.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly to much of Europe. The term may apply to the species as a whole, to individuals, or to male individuals. It also applies to related species like mountain lions.
• noun heraldry A stylized representation of a large cat, used on a coat of arms.
• noun A Chinese foo dog.
• noun An individual who shows strength and courage, attributes associated with the lion.
• noun A famous person.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun large gregarious predatory feline of Africa and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male
• noun (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Leo
• noun a celebrity who is lionized (much sought after)
• noun the fifth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about July 23 to August 22