A large wild cat with yellowish fur covered in dark spots, found mainly in Africa and parts of Asia. Leopards are strong, fast, and good at climbing trees.
From Old French *leupart* and Latin *leopardus*, a blend of Greek *leōn* (lion) and *pardos* (spotted cat). People once thought the leopard was a hybrid between a lion and another big cat.
The very name ‘leopard’ hides an ancient scientific mistake—people thought it was half lion, half some other cat. It’s a reminder that even wrong ideas can live on for thousands of years inside our vocabulary.
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