panther [ME] Panther is from Latin panthera, from Greek panthēr. Greek pardos, Latin pardus ‘leopard’ existed alongside panthera. The two terms led to confusion, for while a panther is actually a black leopard, until the mid 19th century many experts thought the panther and the leopard were separate species. Pard [ME], from pardus was a standard word for *leopard from the Middle Ages, still kept alive by Shakespeare’s ‘bearded like a pard’ (As You Like It Act 2 scene 7) and Shelley’s ‘pard-like Spirit beautiful and swift’ (Adonais, 1821). The now standard leopard (Greek leopardos) was also used from the Middle Ages.