# cheetah

Pronunciation: US say "CHEE-tuh" /ˈt͡ʃitə/; UK

## Noun

1. A spotted member of the cat family, slightly smaller than the leopard but with longer limbs and a smaller head, native to Africa and southeast Asia, and reputed to be the fastest land animal.
   - Simple: A large wild cat from Africa with a small head, long legs, and spotted fur, known as the fastest land animal.
   - _The cheetah accelerates from a standstill to full speed in just a few seconds._
   - _Conservationists are tracking the dwindling cheetah populations across the Sahel._

## Origin

Borrowed from Hindi "cītā" ("leopard, panther"), which ultimately derives from Sanskrit "citra" ("multicolored, speckled") combined with "kāya" ("body"), giving the sense of "having a spotted body".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cheetah (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).