panther
/ˈpanθə
/- Two-thirds of the sightings involved large black animals resembling melanistic leopards, also known as panthers.
- The Himalayan region is home to elephant, deer, panther, wild ass, buffalo and snow leopards.
- Many beautiful big cat species, including the ocelot, lynx, Florida panther, and American jaguar, are in serious danger.
- Known by many names - puma, cougar, catamount, panther - this large feline predator was once wide-spread throughout much of North America.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French pantere, from Latin panthera, from Greek panthēr. In Latin, pardus 'leopard' also existed; the two terms led to confusion: until the mid 19th century many taxonomists regarded the panther and the leopard as separate species.
Panther is from Latin panthera, from Greek panthēr. Greek pardos, Latin pardus ‘leopard’ existed alongside panthera. The two terms led to confusion, for while a panther is actually a black leopard, until the mid 19th century many experts thought the panther and the leopard were separate species. Pard (Middle English), from pardus was a standard word for leopard from the Middle Ages, still kept alive by Shakespeare's ‘bearded like a pard’ (As You Like It Act 2 scene 7) and Shelley's ‘pard-like Spirit beautiful and swift’ (Adonais (1821), the now standard leopard (Greek leopardos) was also used from the Middle Ages.