Link Centre Dictionary

leopard

leo·pard

UK/ˈlɛp.əd/ US/ˈlɛp.ɚd/ fairly common

noun

1.

the pelt of a leopard

2.

large feline of African and Asian forests usually having a tawny coat with black spots

Synonyms

Origin

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”). First attested in the late 13th c. (early 13th c. as a surname).

Phrases

  • a leopard cannot change its spots
  • a leopard does not change its spots
  • Amur leopard
  • Arabian leopard
  • Atlantic Coast leopard frog
  • Bornean clouded leopard
  • Catahoula leopard dog
  • clouded leopard

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.