Other forms: panthers
A panther is a large wild cat, usually a black leopard. A black panther, hunted by a panther, the panther's coat.
It is not a species: a black panther is a leopard in Asia and Africa or a jaguar in the Americas, both with a colour variation called melanism, and the spots are still visible in the right light. In America, panther is also used for the cougar, which is a different animal again. Note that panther sightings in the British countryside are reported constantly and confirmed never.
1nounpantherA large wild cat, especially a black leopard.
“A black panther moved silently along the branch above the path.”
panther is a wild cat.
Greek panther was the name of the animal, and the folk explanation that it means all-beast, from pan plus ther, is a later invention. The word probably came into Greek from further east.
Ancient Greek
πάνθηρ — panther
Latin
panthēra
Old French
pantere
Middle English
pantere
English, today
panther
From Middle English pantere, panter, from Old French pantere, from Latin panthēra, from Ancient Greek πάνθηρ (“panther”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA