another name for the leopard, also used in America as the name of the puma. The word is an adaptation of Lat. panthera; Gr. rravOrp, the supposed derivation of which from rifts, all, and Oip, animal, gave rise to many tales and fables in medieval bestiaries and later scientific works. The panther was supposed to be a distinct animal from the Pardus, pard, the leopard, to which also many legends were attached. In modern times a distinction had been unscientifically drawn between a larger type of leopard to which the name panther was given, and a smaller and more graceful specimen.