panther

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a black-coated leopard, or less often a black-coated jaguar

   The camera trap recorded a black panther moving through the forest at night.

2. 2
   noun

   a cougar, especially the Florida panther or another regional population

   A panther crossed the remote trail before dawn.

3. 3
   noun

   broadly, a large cat of the genus Panthera

   The heraldic panther was depicted as a powerful and exotic beast.

Simplified etymology

Panther entered Middle English from Latin panthera, which came from Greek panthēr. It existed beside Greek pardos and Latin pardus, “leopard,” and confusion between the terms helped sustain the former belief that panthers and leopards were separate species; a panther is actually a black leopard.

From Middle English pantere, through Old French and Latin panthera, from Ancient Greek panther ("panther"). The modern common name is applied variously to melanistic leopards or jaguars and, regionally, to cougars.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary