leopard definition - Dictionary

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leopard

leop·ard [ léppərd ] (plural leop·ards)

noun

Definition:

1. large spotted cat: a large slender member of the cat family with a yellowish brown to orange red coat spotted with black rosettes. Native to: Africa, Asia. Latin name Panthera pardus.

2. heraldic figure of walking lion: in heraldry, an image of a lion viewed from the side facing left, with its head turned toward the viewer and one front leg raised

[13th century. Via French< late Greek leopardos< Greek leōn "lion" + pardos "big cat" (see pard¹)]

Cultural Note


	The Leopard, a novel (1958) by Italian writer Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. Set in late 19th-century Sicily, it describes the social and political changes resulting from the unification of Italy from the point of view of a local nobleman, Prince Salina. In addition to its political and historical insights, the novel is admired for its evocative descriptions of the Sicilian landscape and its moving and poetic meditations on mortality.