Astron. Also pl. in L. form Leonides. [f. L. leōn- LION (LEO) + -ID.] One of a group of meteors that appear to radiate from the constellation Leo.
1876. G. F. Chambers, Astron., 799. The Leonids and the Andromedes of November 14 and 27.
1878. Times, 25 Nov., 4/4. Knowing thus … the true velocity of the Leonides as they rush into our air.
1880. Proctor, Rough Ways made Smooth, 116. If the path tends from that particular part of the constellation Leo…, the probability of the meteor being a Leonid is increased.
attrib. 1899. Edin. Rev., Oct., 319. A practised observer can thus distinguish an Andromede from a Leonid meteor.
