panther
Pluralpanthers
- 1A big cat with a black coat, a name given to several species but especially to the black leopard of Africa and Asia.
Up close, you can still see faint spots hidden in the black panther's dark coat.
A panther slipped through the undergrowth, its black coat blending into the forest shade.
Note
Here the word names a coat rather than a species: the animal meant is most often a leopard that happens to be black. The same word also covers the whole Panthera genus and, in Florida, the cougar, so it pays to check which animal a writer has in mind.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- A black panther represents a coat-colour variant rather than a separate species. en.wikipedia.org
- 2
- 3Any species of big cat classified in the genus Panthera, such as the lion, tiger, leopard, or jaguar.
Lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars are all panthers in the scientific sense.
The study compared skull shapes across every living panther, from the lion to the snow leopard.
- 4A woman, typically a young one, who pursues older men.
Oppositecougar
Note
A small family of animal slang covers age-gap dating, and this word sits opposite cougar, the older woman who pursues younger men. Beside cougar, cub and cradle robber, the panther is always the younger partner and the one doing the pursuing. Mixing the two up reverses the meaning entirely.
Less common meaning
- 5In Greek mythology and in heraldry, a beast like a big cat, usually shown emitting flames and often with a many-colored hide; heraldic versions sometimes look almost like a horse.
Practice
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Origin
Ancient Greek pánthēr ("panther") became Latin panthēra and then Old French pantere, which gave Middle English panter, panther or pantere.