lion vs lioness

lion and lioness both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
lion	Yes	No	No	No
lioness	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, lioness is a hyponym of lion; that is, lioness is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than lion:

lion: large gregarious predatory feline of Africa and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male
lioness: a female lion

Other hyponyms of lion include lion cub, lionet.

lion (noun)	lioness (noun)
large gregarious predatory feline of Africa and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male	a female lion
a celebrity who is lionized (much sought after)