big cat vs lion

big cat

noun
  • Any large feline animal, especially one of the Panthera genus, including tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. 

  • Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see big, cat. 

lion

noun
  • Any of various extant and extinct big cats, especially the mountain lion. 

  • A male lion, as opposed to a lioness. 

  • A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe. 

  • A famous person regarded with interest and curiosity. 

  • A light brown color that resembles the fur of a lion. 

  • An old Scottish coin, with a lion on the obverse, worth 74 shillings. 

  • A Chinese foo dog. 

  • An individual who shows strength and courage, attributes associated with the lion. 

adj
  • Of the light brown color that resembles the fur of a lion. 

How often have the words big cat and lion occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )