lion de mer

\ljɔ̃ də mɛʁ\

/\ljɔ̃ də mɛʁ\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“lion de mer” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nom donné à plusieurs espèces d’animaux carnivores de la sous-famille des Otariinés dont le mâle présente la particularité de porter une crinière.

Key facts for lion de mer
PropertyValue
Headwordlion de mer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ljɔ̃ də mɛʁ\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lion de mer” sits in French frequency

lion de mer falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lion de mer is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ljɔ̃ də mɛʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Nom donné à plusieurs espèces d’animaux carnivores de la sous-famille des Otariinés dont le mâle présente la particularité de porter une crinière.".

lion de mer doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is lion de mer, spelled L-I-O-N- -D-E- -M-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nom donné à plusieurs espèces d’animaux carnivores de la sous-famille des Otariinés dont le mâle présente la particularité de porter une crinière.

Synonyms

lion marinotarie à crinière

This word in other languages

sea lion(English)Seelöwe(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lion de mer"?
"lion de mer" is spelled L-I-O-N- -D-E- -M-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ljɔ̃ də mɛʁ\.
What does "lion de mer" mean?
As a noun, "lion de mer" means: Nom donné à plusieurs espèces d’animaux carnivores de la sous-famille des Otariinés dont le mâle présente la particularité de porter une crinière.
How do you pronounce "lion de mer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lion de mer" is \ljɔ̃ də mɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lion de mer" come from?
"lion de mer" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “lion de mer”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is L-I-O-N- -D-E- -M-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ljɔ̃ də mɛʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list