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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 3346057, member: 75937&quot;]The word leopard comes from two Greek words, λέων (lion) and παρδιαῖος (spotted).* Hence, &quot;spotted lion.&quot; On coins, I would venture that any large feline with spots would have been called a leopard by the ancients.</p><p><br /></p><p>*Some etymologies (i.e. Wikipedia) will state that &quot;leopard&quot; comes from λέων (lion) and πάρδος (male panther), but I believe that to be incorrect. Not that πάρδος doesn&#039;t mean a male panther--it does--but πάρδος specifically means SPOTTED large cat. In &quot;leopard,&quot; the <i>-pard</i> refers to the spotted nature of the beast, not to the fact that there is a spotted beast called a <i>pardos</i>. An analogous English situation is that we call certain pied cats <i>calicos</i>. A calico is a cat, to be sure, but <i>calico</i> doesn&#039;t ONLY mean cat; it primarily refers to a pied pattern of colors, but has come to refer to a pied cat by extension. <a href="https://www.lyst.com/clothing/ariat-calico-coat-multi/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.lyst.com/clothing/ariat-calico-coat-multi/" rel="nofollow">This women&#039;s calico coat</a> isn&#039;t made out of cat fur; calico is a color. &quot;Leo-pard&quot; doesn&#039;t mean lion-panther, it means spotted lion.</p><p><br /></p><p>For example, the Greek word for giraffe is καμηλοπάρδαλις (camelopardalis in Latin). This is a compound of καμηλο- (camel) and πάρδαλις (spotted). A giraffe is described as a spotted camel. No one in their right mind would claim a giraffe means camel-panther.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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