cheetah
/ˈt͡ʃiːtə/ noun
Forms cheetahs chetah cheeta
- noun (zoology) A distinctive member (Acinonyx jubatus) of the cat family, slightly smaller than the leopard, but with proportionately longer limbs and a smaller head; native to Africa and southeast Asia (where it is nearly extinct) and also credited with being the fastest terrestrial animal.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Hindi चीता (cītā, “leopard, panther”), ultimately from Sanskrit चित्र (citra, “multicolored, speckled”) (akin to Old High German haitar (“bright”) > German heiter; Old Norse heiðr (“bright”)) + Sanskrit काय (kāya, “body”), thus “having a spotted body”.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A species of leopard (Cynælurus jubatus) tamed and used for hunting in India. The woolly cheetah of South Africa is C. laneus.
Etymology [Hind. chita.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cheetah”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details