Re: How did the leopard get it's name?

Hello Lyndsay,

Finding out about the origins and meaning of words is called etymology.  
Some sad people (like me - the sort who read dictionaries) - think it is a 
lot of fun - I'm glad you do too.

Leopards do not live in Europe, so when they were first discovered by 
Europeans, it was necessary to invent a name.  In those days, educated 
people studied Latin and Greek at school, and used these languages to 
describe and name things.

Leo is Latin for lion, and Pardus is Latin for leopard or 
panther.  'Leopard' therefore means 'lionpanther', showing that they 
understood that it was somewhere between the two.  OK - so what would you 
have called it ?

Thanks for your interest.

Will Higgs
Zooarchaeologist
North of England

PS 'its' doesn't have an apostrophe - otherwise it would mean 'it is' !