Lyons

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A major city in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France, located at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers
2. The third-largest city in France, situated in the region where the Rhône and Saône rivers meet in the southeast
3. An important French city in the southeast known for its location at the junction of two major rivers and its historical significance

Etymology: The word "lyons" is simply the English name for the French city Lyon, which sits at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. The city's name goes back to Roman times as Lugdūnum, a Latin word meaning "fort of Lug," after Lugus, a Celtic god whose name comes from the Proto-Celtic *Lugus. So the city was named for a deity more than two thousand years ago, and the name has carried that divine reference ever since. English took the name through Old French, which had the form Lyons as the nominative case of Lyon. The "-s" ending in English is a survival of that Old French spelling rather than a plural, which is why the city is treated as a singular place even though its name looks like a plural noun.