pantherishadj.
/ˈpanθ(ə)rɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈpænθ(ə)rɪʃ/ Similar to or characteristic of a panther; lithe, graceful.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > bodily movement > [adjective] > qualities of bodily movement > agile or nimble
lightOE
quiverOE
yepec1275
taitc1300
yap13..
delivera1375
swippera1387
wight1390
nimblea1400
yarea1400
yerna1400
smitherc1475
leger1483
agilea1500
liver1530
lightsome1567
wimble1579
nimble jointed1591
nimble shifting1591
agilious1599
nimbling1599
nimble spirited1611
expedite1612
fitchanta1616
airy1642
fantastic1645
volant1650
clever1691
light-limbed1695
spry1746
swack1768
swank1786
yauld1787
deliverly1820
slippy1847
nippy1849
springe1859
pantherish1869
pantherine1890
flippant1895
loose1907
Tarzanesque1933
Tarzan-like1943
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Felidae (feline) > [adjective] > of or characteristic of a leopard or panther
leopard-like1611
leopardine1641
pantherine1656
pardine1859
pantherish1869
1869 Harper's Mag. Feb. 342/1 My pantherish brother proceeded to state that he had been arrested on a charge of horse-stealing.
1892 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 151 114/2 Graceful in a lithe, pantherish way.
1923 V. Lindsay Going-to-the-sun 60 And their whisper stirs love's fury in each pantherish girl-child, Till she dresses like a columbine, or a bleeding heart gone wild.
1972 J. Rossiter Rope for General Dietz iv. 45 She walked with a pantherish stride.
1993 Daily Tel. 7 Jan. 3/2 Nureyev had a sensual, passionate, pantherish quality in his every movement that was exciting in itself to watch.
Derivatives
ˈpantherishly adv. rare like panther; lithely, gracefully.
ΚΠ
1920 C. E. Mulford Johnny Nelson xviii. 202 Johnny, leaping pantherishly aside out of the rolling smoke, held two guns to the paralysed group.
1996 Majestic Fiction Repost—Moon over Polidor—Ch. 1, 2, 3 & 4 in alt.startrek.creative (Usenet newsgroup) 19 Sept. She had a bodybuilder's form, her muscles flowing pantherishly under the jumpsuit-uniform.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1869