leopard
nounUK /ˈlɛp.əd/ · US /ˈlɛp.ɚd/
Etymology From Middle English leopard, leopart, lepard, leperd, from Old French leopard (“leopard”), from Late Latin leopardus (“leopon, lipard”) from late Ancient Greek λεόπαρδος (leópardos, “leopon, lipard”), from λέων (léōn, “lion”) + πάρδος (párdos, “pard, male leopard”), from earlier πάρδαλις (párdalis, “leopard”), probably from an unattested Old Persian [Term?] term ancestral to Middle Persian [script needed] (palang), Khwarezmian [script needed] (plyk), Sogdian [script needed] (pwrδnk), Pashto پړانګ (pṛāng). Compare Persian پلنگ (palang) and Sanskrit पृदाकु (pṛdāku, “panther”).
7 senses
- 1Panthera pardus, a large wild cat with a spotted coat…
- 2The male of the species P. pardus, in contrast to leopardess.
- 3A similar-looking, large wild cat named after the leopard.
- 4A clouded leopard (either Neofelis nebulosa or Neofelis…
- 5The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), a large wild cat…
- 6A lion passant guardant.
- 7Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus…
Panthera pardus, a large wild cat with a spotted coat native to Africa and Asia.
- During all such cases when we were present they responded by giving repeated alarm calls, even when the leopard was already feeding on a carcass. We wanted to determine whether vervets knew enough about the behavior of leopards to recognize that, even in the absence of a leopard, a carcass in a tree signaled the same potential danger as did a leopard itself.1990, Dorothy L. Cheney, How Monkeys See the World: Inside the Mind of Another Species, published 1992, page 284:
- The leopard (Panthera pardus or Felis pardus cf tulliana) is a close relative of the lion, but biblical references mentioning it are very few, suggesting that it was not as common.1998, Oded Borowski, Every Living Thing: Daily Use of Animals in Ancient Israel, page 201:
1 more example
- Leopard skins have always been desirable commodities because of their spectacular spotted patterns.2005, Richard Ellis, Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn: The Destruction of Wildlife for Traditional Chinese Medicine, page 197:
Especially The male of the species P. pardus, in contrast to leopardess.
Broadly A similar-looking, large wild cat named after the leopard.
- There are plenty of beautiful cats among the thirty-nine species in the Felidae family, but the three leopards—clouded, common, and snow—may be the most visually stunning. Cloaked in the most beautiful fur of any cat, the reclusive clouded leopard is the Greta Garbo of the lot; it lives a solitary life in the remote jungles of Asia, from Nepal to Borneo.2005, Eric Dinerstein, Tigerland and Other Unintended Destinations, page 81:
Broadly A clouded leopard (either Neofelis nebulosa or Neofelis diardi), a large wild cat native to Asia.
Broadly The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), a large wild cat native to Asia.
Government, Heraldry, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Monarchy, Nobility, Politics A lion passant guardant.
- Sometimes there is confusion over the heraldic leopard, the question being—When is a leopard not a leopard? There is a theory that the lion and leopard were the same thing, and that they were named entirely depending on their attitude—thus if the animal was passant guardant it was a leopard, but when rampant it was a lion. Nowadays a leopard is the genuine spotted article and quite unmistakeable. Some people still speak, wrongly, of the leopards of England, but it does no great harm as it is an ancient expression and everybody knows what it means.1968, Charles MacKinnon of Dunakin, The Observer's Book of Heraldry, pages 68–69:
Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Phalanta, having black markings on an orange base.
- Synonyms
- common leopard, pard, pardal, clouded leopard, snow leopard
- Derived terms
57 terms
a leopard cannot change its spots, a leopard does not change its spots, Amur leopard, Arabian leopard, Atlantic Coast leopard frog, Bornean clouded leopard, cameleopard, Catahoula leopard dog, clouded leopard, common leopard, giant leopard moth, hunting leopard, leopard cat, leopard complex, leopard crawl, leopard cub, leopard eel, leopardess, leopard flower, leopard frog, leopard gecko, leopard ground squirrel, leopardine, leopardlike, leopard lily, leopardling, leopard lizard, leopard man, leopard moray, leopard moray eel, leopard moth, leopard orchid, leopard print, leopardsbane, leopard seal, Leopards Eating People's Faces Party, leopard shark, leopard's head, leopard siren, leopardskin, leopard slug, leopard snake, leopard-spermophile, leopard squirrel, leopard tortoise, leopard tree, leopardwood, leopon, lipard, Louisiana Catahoula leopard dog, Manchurian leopard, pumapard, sea leopard, serpopard, snow-leopard, snow leopard, wereleopard- Related terms
- camelopard, pard, pardal, leopon, lipard
- Hypernyms
- cat and wild cat, panther
- Hyponyms
- leopardess, cub, leopard cub