Lewis

UK: /ˈluːɪs/ US: 'Lewis', 'lewis': (lo̅o̅′is)

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Lewis / ˈluːɪs/ noun

1. the N part of the island of Lewis with Harris, in the Outer Hebrides; site of Neolithic standing stones near the village of Callanish. Pop: about 17 000 (2001). Area: 1634 sq km (631 sq miles)

Lewis / ˈluːɪs/ noun

1. Carl, full name Frederick Carleton Lewis. born 1961, US athlete; winner of the long jump, 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1984 Olympic Games; winner of the 100 metres in the 1988 Olympic Games; winner of the long jump in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games
2. See Day-Lewis
3. C(live) S(taples). 1898–1963, English novelist, critic, and Christian apologist, noted for his critical work, Allegory of Love (1936), his theological study, The Screwtape Letters (1942), and for his children's books chronicling the land of Narnia
4. Lennox. born 1965, Canadian and British boxer; won Olympic gold (1988) for Canada in the superheavyweight division; won various professional heavyweight titles between 1994 and 2004
5. Matthew Gregory, known as Monk Lewis. 1775–1818, English novelist and dramatist, noted for his Gothic horror story The Monk (1796)
6. Meriwether. 1774–1807, American explorer who, with William Clark, led an overland expedition from St Louis to the Pacific Ocean (1804–06)
7. (John) Saunders ( ˈsɔːndəz ). 1893–1985, Welsh poet, dramatist, critic, and politician: founder (1926) and president (1926–39) of the Welsh Nationalist Party
8. (Harry) Sinclair. 1885–1951, US novelist. He satirized the complacency and philistinism of American small-town life, esp in Main Street (1920) and Babbitt (1922): Nobel prize for literature 1930
9. Wally. born 1959, Australian rugby league player; played 33 matches for Australia (1981–91), scoring 11 tries
10. (Percy) Wyndham. 1884–1957, British painter, novelist, and critic, born in the US: a founder of vorticism. His writings include Time and Western Man (1927), The Apes of God (1930), and the trilogy The Human Age (1928–55)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

lew•is  (lo̅o̅′is), n. 

1. Building a device for lifting a dressed stone, consisting of a number of pieces fitting together to fill a dovetailed recess cut into the stone.

• perh. after the surname of the inventor 1730–40

Lew•is  (lo̅o̅′is), n. 

1. Biographical C(ecil) Day, 1904–72, British poet: poet laureate after 1968.
C(live) S(ta•ples)  (stā′pəlz), ("Clive Hamilton''), 1898–1963, English novelist and essayist.
2. Biographical Gilbert Newton, 1875–1946, U.S. chemist.
3. Biographical (Harry) Sinclair, 1885–1951, U.S. novelist, playwright, and journalist: Nobel prize 1930.
4. Biographical Isaac Newton, 1858–1931, U.S. soldier and inventor.
5. Biographical Jerry Lee, born 1935, U.S. country-and-western and rock-'n'-roll singer, musician, and composer.
6. Biographical John (Aaron), born 1920, U.S. jazz pianist, composer, and musical director.
7. Biographical John L(lewellyn), 1880–1969, U.S. labor leader.
8. Biographical Matthew Gregory ("Monk Lewis''), 1775–1809, English novelist, dramatist, and poet.
Mer•i•weth•er  (mer′i weᵺ′ər), 1774–1809, U.S. explorer: leader of the Lewis and Clark expedition 1804–06. (Percy) Wynd•ham  (win′dəm), 1884–1957, English novelist, essayist, and painter;
born in the U.S.
9. Biographical R(ichard) W(arrington) B(aldwin), born 1917, U.S. biographer, literary critic, and scholar.
10. a male given name.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

lewis / ˈluːɪs/, lewisson / ˈluːɪs^ən/ noun

1. a lifting device for heavy stone or concrete blocks consisting of a number of curved pieces of metal or wedges fitting into a dovetailed recess cut into the block

Etymology: 18th Century: perhaps from the name of the inventor