Words with Webster: Pard

We have one fun Friday feature for you today, as Real Cat Webster shares a really old wild cat word. And then we have a reminder for you about next Friday!

Words with Webster

Hi, everybody! It’s me, Real Cat Webster. Welcome to Words with Me. Today’s word is “pard.” This is sort of like last week’s word, “manticore,” because I got the idea for it when Mommy was typing the heraldry post for Miss C. Anyway, “pard,” according to my favorite dictionary, Merriam-Webster’s, is an archaic term for a leopard. The Oxford English Dictionary says it can mean a panther, a leopard, or “an animal resembling these.”

This word has basically been around since the days of ye Olde English, which was before the year 1100. Here is one of the Old English quotes listed in the OED:

Ofer ealle þa niht ðe we ferdon þæt us symle leon & beran & tigris & pardus & wulfas ure ehtan. ([tr.] Alexander’s Letter to Aristotle, 16.234)

Besides the pards, this quote also has lions and tigers and bears. Oh my! (And it has wolves too.)

It was really exciting to see a Shakespeare quote for “pard”:

Then, a Soldier, Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the Pard. (about 1616, As You Like It (1623) ii. vii. 150)

And I’m adding this 19th-century quote just because I like it:  

With the tread of the velvet-footed pard when he creeps upon his prey. (1845, J. H. Ingraham, Scarlet Feather ix. 58)

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, “pard” comes from the Latin pardus and Greek pardos (both meaning “a male panther”). And those could come from a possibly Iranian source that also led to the Sanskrit prdaku-s (“leopard, tiger, snake”) and Persian palang (“panther”).

This leopard is leaping in a Roman mosaic from Cyprus.
Photo via Adobe Stock.

And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did look up “leopard,” but it was so interesting I decided to save it for my next column, which will be right here on July 6!

Pet Photo Fails

And now here is your friendly reminder that the Pet Photo Fails Blog Hop happens next Friday! So get your not-quite-right pet photos ready to share, and come hop with us. All pets are welcome!