Category:Leopard

Leop"ard, n. Etym: [OE. leopart, leparde, lebarde, libbard, OF. leopard, liepart, F. léopard, L. leopardus, fr. Gr. Lion, and Pard.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large, savage, carnivorous mammal (Felis leopardus). It is of a yellow or fawn color, with rings or roselike clusters of black spots along the back and sides. It is found in Southern Asia and Africa. By some the panther (Felis pardus) is regarded as a variety of leopard. Hunting leopard. See Cheetah. Leopard cat (Zoöl.) any one of several species or varieties of small, spotted cats found in Africa, Southern Asia, and the East Indies; esp., Felis Bengalensis. -- Leopard marmot. See Gopher, 2.

-

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Leopard - (Heb. namer, so called because spotted, Song of Songs 4:8), was that great spotted feline which anciently infested the mountains of Syria, more appropriately called a panther (Felis pardus). Its fierceness (Isaiah 11:6), its watching for its prey (Jeremiah 5:6), its swiftness (Habakkuk 1:8), and the spots of its skin (Jeremiah 13:23), are noticed. This word is used symbolically (Daniel 7:6; Revelation 13:2).