[loo-ee; Fr. lwee] 
[loo-is or, for 2, loo-ee] | 1. | Joe (Joseph Louis Barrow), 1914–81, U.S. boxer: world heavyweight champion 1937–49. |
| 2. | a male given name: from a Germanic word meaning “loud battle.” |
[loo-ee, loo-is; Fr. lwee] | (“le Débonaire”; “the Pious”) a.d. 788–840, king of France and Germany 814–840; emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 814–840 (son of Charlemagne). |
| 1. | German, Ludwig II. (“the German”) a.d. 804?–876, king of Germany 843–876 (son of Louis I). |
| 2. | a.d. 822?–875, king of Italy 844–875; emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 855–875 (son of Lothair I). |
| (“the Bavarian”) 1287?–1347, king of Germany (1314–47); emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 1328–47. |
| (“le Fainéant”) a.d. 967?–987, king of France 986–987: last Carolingian to rule France. |
| (“the Fat”) 1081–1137, king of France 1108–37. |
| (“the Young”) 1121?–80, king of France 1137–80 (son of Louis VI). |
| Saint, 1214?–70, king of France 1226–70. |
| 1423–83, king of France 1461–83 (son of Charles VII). |
| (“the Father of the People”) 1462–1515, king of France 1498–1515. |
| 1601–43, king of France 1610–43 (son of Henry IV of Navarre). |
| (“the Great”; “the Sun King”) 1638–1715, king of France 1643–1715 (son of Louis XIII). |
| 1710–74, king of France 1715–74 (great grandson of Louis XIV). |
| 1754–93, king of France 1774–92 (grandson of Louis XV and husband of Marie Antoinette). |
| (“Louis Charles of France”) 1785–95, titular king of France 1793–95 (son of Louis XVI). |
| (Louis Xavier Stanislas) 1755–1824, king of France 1814–15, 1815–24 (brother of Louis XVI). |
| Lou·is (lōō'ĭs) American prizefighter who held the heavyweight title for nearly 12 years (1937-1949), successfully defending it for a record 25 times. |
A king of France in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Louis was known as the Sun King for his power and splendor. By inviting French nobles to live in luxury at his palace at Versailles, he removed them as threats and greatly increased his own power. He is known for saying, “L'état, c'est moi” (“I am the state”).
The last king of France before the French Revolution; the husband of Marie Antoinette. He at first accepted a change from absolute monarchy (see ancien régime) to constitutional monarchy in France. Then he tried to flee the country and was brought back a prisoner. Radicals, including the Jacobins, assumed control of the revolution and had Louis and Marie Antoinette beheaded for treason.
louis
gold coin circulated in France before the Revolution. The franc (q.v.) and livre were silver coins that had shrunk in value to such an extent that by 1740 coins of a larger denomination were needed. The French kings therefore had gold coins struck and called after their name Louis, or louis d'or ("gold Louis"). After the Revolution, Napoleon continued the practice but called the coins "napoleons." They had a value of 20 francs.
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