Pan"ther (?), n. [OE. pantere, F. panthere, L. panthera, Gr. , prob. fr. Skr. pundrika a tiger.]
1. Zool.
A large dark-colored variety of the leopard, by some zoologists considered a distinct species. It is marked with large ringlike spots, the centers of which are darker than the color of the body.
2. Zool.
In America, the name is applied to the puma, or cougar, and sometimes to the jaguar.
<-- Illustr. of Panther (Felis leopardus, or pardus) -->
Panther cat Zool., the ocelot. -- Panther cowry Zool., a spotted East Indian cowry (Cypraea pantherina); -- so called from its color.
© Webster 1913.