cheetah

---

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi चीता, ultimately from Sanskrit चित्र (akin to Old High German haitar > German heiter; Old Norse heiðr) + Sanskrit काय ("body"), thus “having a spotted body”.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈt͡ʃiːtə/, /ˈt͡ʃiːtɑ/

Noun

cheetah (plural cheetahs)

1. 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

• guepard (archaic), hunting cat, hunting leopard

Translations

• French: guépard
• German: Gepard
• Italian: ghepardo
• Portuguese: guepardo, chita
• Russian: гепа́рд
• Spanish: guepardo, chita

---

This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.004