lionism
Syllables: li·on·i·sm/ˈlaɪənɪzm̩/US/ˈlaɪəˌnɪzəm/
lionism noun: the 19th-century practice of bringing a lion (“an interesting person or object”) into one’s home as entertainment for visitors. Also the alternative letter-case form of Lionism.
Noun (1)
lionism (plural lionisms)
- The 19th-century practice of bringing a lion (“an interesting person or object”) into one’s home as entertainment for visitors.
- [page 262] The practice of "Lionism" originates in some feelings which are very good,—in veneration for intellectual superiority, and gratitude for intellectual gifts; and its form and prevalence are determined by the fact, that literature has reached a larger class, and interested a different...1832 April, H[arriet] M[artineau], “Art. I.—Heads of the People. The ‘Lion’ of a Party. London, 1839. … [book review]”, in The London and Westminster Review, volume XXXII, number II, London: […]...
- To define what constitutes "a lion," would be about as easy a task as to describe the colours of a chamelion. The elements of lionism are of necessity evanescent, as they are various. Provided the thing be not common-place and familiar, there is scarcely a particular that will not constitute its...1837 May, “Human Zoology.—No. II. Lions.”, in Theodore Hook, editor, The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, volume L, 2nd part, number CXCVIII, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 177
- The state of being the lion (see above) of 19th-century hosts.
- In the whirl and giddiness of his lionism, he had contracted debts with the same recklessness as he had done every thing else. But his sense of honour was now galled when these debts were to be paid, and he found himself without money to pay them.1847, [George Henry Lewes], “Expiation”, in Ranthorpe, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book III (The Unsuccessful Author), page 118
- During the last seven or ten years of his life, [William] Wordsworth felt himself to be a recognised lion, in certain considerable London circles, […] Wordsworth took his bit of lionism very quietly, with a smile sardonic rather than triumphant, and certainly got no harm by it, if he got or...1867 January 28 – March 8 (date written), Thomas Carlyle, “Appendix: Reminiscences of Sundry”, in James Anthony Froude, editor, Reminiscences, volume II, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published...
- The practice of lionizing (“treating a person as a celebrity or someone important”); also, the state of being lionized.
- So sudden; all common Lionism, which ruins innumerable men, was as nothing to this. […] [T]hese Lion-hunters were the ruin and death of [Robert] Burns. […] They gathered round him in his Farm; hindered his industry; no place was remote enough from them. He could not get his Lionism forgotten...1840 May 19, Thomas Carlyle, “Lecture V. The Hero as Man of Letters. Johnson, Rousseau, Burns.”, in On Heroes, Hero-Worship and The Heroic in History, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1840...
- [John] Sterling […] glanced pertinently with victorious clearness, without spleen, though often enough with a dash of mockery, into its Puseyisms, Liberalisms, literary Lionisms, or what else the mad hour might be producing,—always prompt to recognise what grain of sanity might be in the same.1851, Thomas Carlyle, “Clifton”, in The Life of John Sterling, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, part II, page 247
- The state of a person having a leonine facies, that is, facial features which resemble those of a lion as a result of some disease, especially a form of leprosy which causes leontiasis (“a medical condition characterized by an overgrowth of the cranial and facial bones”).
- The ideals of Rastafarianism.
- [page 73] Lionism transcends even Haile Selassie who merely came in the name of the Lion – as "The Conquering Lion of Judah" or as the "man-lion from Mount Zion." […] [page 75] Most Rastas attempt to become lions by attempting to syncretise and use all of these elements [Anancism...1980 December, Dennis Forsythe, “West Indian Culture through the Prism of Rastafarianism”, in R[alston] M[ilton] Nettleford, editor, Caribbean Quarterly: Rastafari, volume 26, number 4, Mona...
- The remainder of [Dennis] Forsythe’s paper and the subsequent book that followed elaborated on implementing the characteristics of ‘lionism’ and achieving Rasta’s true ideal: […]1999, William David Spencer, “The ‘Eastern’ Christ of Rastafari”, in Dread Jesus, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock Publishers, published 1 April 2011, →ISBN, page 67
Proper noun capitalized: Lionism
Lionism (uncountable)
- The ideals of and membership in the Lions Club.
- We have learned that Lionism is a spirit . We have learned that an atmosphere has created Lionism, and that Lionism in return creates an atmosphere.1959, Minter L. Wilson, The Light of Other Days, page 224
- The laudable aspects of the movement caught the imagination of the citizens of the world and soon Lionism became an international movement.1986, Rashmi Mayur, Prem Ratan Vohra, Bombay by 2000 A.D., page 87
Noun (2) capitalized: Lionism
Lionism (plural Lionisms)
- Alternative letter-case form of lionism.
- The practice of "Lionism" originates in some feelings which are very good,—in veneration for intellectual superiority, and gratitude for intellectual gifts; and its form and prevalence are determined by the fact, that literature has reached a larger class, and interested a different order of people...1832 April, H[arriet] M[artineau], “Art. I.—Heads of the People. The ‘Lion’ of a Party. London, 1839. … [book review]”, in The London and Westminster Review, volume XXXII, number II, London: […]...
- So sudden; all common Lionism, which ruins innumerable men, was as nothing to this. […] [T]hese Lion-hunters were the ruin and death of [Robert] Burns. […] They gathered round him in his Farm; hindered his industry; no place was remote enough from them. He could not get his Lionism forgotten...1840 May 19, Thomas Carlyle, “Lecture V. The Hero as Man of Letters. Johnson, Rousseau, Burns.”, in On Heroes, Hero-Worship and The Heroic in History, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1840...
Also used as
lionism is also the alternative letter-case form of Lionism.
Examples of lionism in a sentence
- The elements of lionism are of necessity evanescent, as they are various.1837 May, “Human Zoology.—No. II. Lions.”, in Theodore Hook, editor, The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, volume L, 2nd part, number...
- Lady Merivale, disgusted by this bit of lionism, wished to be off, and looked round for Brandon to order her carriage.1839 August, “The Lion of the Coteries”, in William Tait, Christian Isobel Johnstone, editors, Tait’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume VI, number...
- At the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign, the emergent nature of literary celebrity provoked much anxious debate due to the new phenomenon of ‘lionism’.2016, John Plunkett, “Celebrity Culture”, in Juliet John, editor, The Oxford Handbook of Victorian Literary Culture, Oxford, Oxfordshire...
- As a matter of fact, the exemplar of lionism belongs to a Society for the Preservation of Egotism; any attack on the lion's traits would meet with peremptory slaughter.1909 May, Lionel Josaphare, “The Literary Lion”, in The Pacific Monthly: A Magazine of Education and Progress, volume XXI, number 5...
Forms of lionism
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | lionisms |
| plural | Lionisms |
| alternative form (rare) | Lionism |
| Proper noun | |
| alternative form | lionism |
Origin of lionism
From lion (“big cat (Panthera leo); (figurative) famous person regarded with interest and curiosity; person who shows attributes associated with the lion such as courage, ferocity, or strength”) + -ism (suffix forming names of schools of thought, systems, or theories, or of tendencies of action, behaviour, condition, state, condition, or opinion belonging to a class or group of persons). Etymology 1 sense 1 (“19th-century practice of bringing an interesting person or object into one’s home as entertainment for visitors; state of being such a person or object”) refers to the lions previously on display at a menagerie in the Tower of London, which existed till the 19th century. Etymology 1 sense 4 refers to the Lion of Judah, a hereditary title of Haile Selassie I (1892–1975), the Emperor of Ethiopia, who is revered by some members of the Rastafari movement as the messiah; the lion is thus a symbol of Rastafarianism.
See Lionism.
From Lion(s Club) + -ism (suffix forming tendencies of action, behaviour, condition, state, condition, or opinion belonging to a class or group of persons).
Questions about lionism
- What does lionism mean?
- Lionism means the 19th-century practice of bringing a lion (“an interesting person or object”) into one’s home as entertainment for visitors.
- How do you use lionism in a sentence?
- The elements of lionism are of necessity evanescent, as they are various.
- What part of speech is lionism?
- Lionism can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce lionism?
- Lionism is pronounced /ˈlaɪənɪzm̩/ (UK).
- What is the plural of lionism?
- The plural of lionism is lionisms.
Words near lionism in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: lionism (page history and authors); Lionism (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-lionism.wav.
Cite this entry: “lionism.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lionism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.