LEONINE, in poetry, is applied to a kind of verses which rhyme at every hemistich, the middle always chiming to the end. The origin of the word is somewhat obscure. Pasquier derives it from one Leoninus or Leonius, who excelled in this species of composition, and dedicated several pieces to Pope Alexander III.; others derive it from Pope Leo, and others from the lion, by reason it is the loftiest of all verses.