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.