Leopard

Definitions

1. A surname.
2. Panthera pardus, a large wild cat with a spotted coat native to Africa and Asia, especially the male of the species (in contrast to leopardess).
3. A similar-looking, large wild cat named after the leopard.
   broadly
4. A clouded leopard (either Neofelis nebulosa or Neofelis diardi), a large wild cat native to Asia.
   broadly
5. The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), a large wild cat native to Asia.
   broadly
6. A lion passant guardant.
7. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Phalanta, having black markings on an orange base.

Equivalents

Examples

“During all such cases when we were present⟳ they responded by giving repeated alarm calls, even when the leopard was already feeding on a carcass. We wanted to determine⟳ whether vervets knew enough about the behavior of leopards to recognize that, even in the absence of a leopard, a carcass in a tree signaled the same potential danger as did a leopard itself.”

“The leopard (Panthera pardus or Felis pardus cf tulliana) is a close⟳ relative of the lion, but biblical references mentioning it are very few, suggesting that it was not as common.”

“Leopard skins have⟳ always been desirable commodities because of their spectacular spotted patterns.”

“There are plenty of beautiful cats among the thirty-nine species in the Felidae family, but the three leopards—clouded, common, and snow⟳—may be the most visually stunning. Cloaked in the most beautiful fur of any cat, the reclusive clouded leopard is the Greta Garbo of the lot; it lives a solitary life in the remote jungles of Asia, from Nepal to Borneo.”

“Sometimes there is confusion over the heraldic leopard, the question⟳ being—When is a leopard not a leopard? There is a theory that the lion and leopard were the same thing, and that they were named entirely depending on their attitude—thus if the animal was passant guardant it was a leopard, but when rampant it was a lion. Nowadays a leopard is the genuine spotted article and quite unmistakeable. Some people still speak⟳, wrongly, of the leopards of England, but it does no great harm⟳ as it is an ancient expression and everybody knows what it means.”

CEFR level