An alternative spelling of 'cheetah,' a large spotted wild cat that is the fastest land animal.
A variant spelling of 'cheetah,' which comes from Hindi 'chita' or Sanskrit 'chitraka,' meaning 'spotted.' The modern spelling 'cheetah' eventually became standard, while 'chetah' is now considered archaic.
The spelling of 'cheetah' got standardized pretty recently—earlier English texts show all kinds of variations like 'chetah,' 'chita,' and 'cheetaw' because the word was new to English when traders brought it from India.
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