Mac OS X Lion

Definition - What does Mac OS X Lion mean?

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is an operating system from Apple. It was notable for some significant new features related to the user interface, like Launchpad and Mission Control. The company also integrated some iOS functionality. Lion was an upgrade from Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and was followed by OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, which Apple released on July 25 2012.

The opreating system is sometimes referred to as simply "Lion".

Techopedia explains Mac OS X Lion

Unlike previous operating systems, Apple did not include 10.7 on a disk. Lion has been designed to streamline some of the traditional Mac functions to make the OS more accessible. It also comes with a lot of integration to iOS and borrows certain features from iOS.

Apple boasted 250 new features for Lion when compared to Snow Leopard and many come straight from iOS. For instance, it comes with a feature called Launchpad that brings the iOS user interface into the Mac format. The apps can be viewed as if they were iOS apps on the desktop while the user shifts left and right through the pages they are segregated into. Lion's successor, Mountain Lion, further integrates the two operating systems.