lion
part of speech
noun (lion, lions; female lioness, lionesses)
meaning for a pupil
1) A lion is a big wild cat with golden fur that lives mostly in Africa. The male has a large mane of hair around its head. tree →
2) A lion is also a symbol of courage and strength. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: an animal counted in a zoo or story; its legs, food or weight may be counted; «each lion» makes a rate. In science: lions are predators and carnivores; they live in groups called prides and the lionesses do most of the hunting. In stories: the lion as the king of the jungle; brave as a lion. Phrases: a pride of lions, the lion's share (the biggest part), sea lion, mountain lion.
examples
- The zoo has 4 lions. tree →
- Each lion eats 7 kg of meat a day. tree →
- There are 3 more tigers than lions. tree →
- How many legs do 5 lions have? tree →
- A lion's roar can be heard far away. tree →
- Lions live in groups called prides. tree →
- The lionesses hunt for food. tree →
- In the fable, a little mouse helps a lion. tree →
- He took the lion's share of the cake. tree →
note
A female lion is a «lioness»; a baby is a «cub». Just the thing counted; «each lion» makes a rate. No clue by itself. Trap: «the lion's share» means the biggest part, not an equal share. Myth: lions do not live in the jungle; most live on grassy plains.
In the corpora
- In The Lion King musical the puppets are designed so you see both the actor and the animal.
- Lions have a special voice box with square-shaped folds that make a very deep, loud sound.
- In Aesop's fable from ancient Greece, about 2500 years ago, a little mouse saves a lion by gnawing through a net.
- Leopards drag their kills, sometimes as heavy as themselves, up into trees where lions and hyenas cannot steal them.
- Zebras defend themselves with powerful kicks and bites that can badly injure a lion, and they have never been tamed like horses.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «lion» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.