cheetah
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editBorrowed from Hindi चीता (cītā, “leopard, panther”), ultimately from Sanskrit चित्र (citra, “multicolored, speckled”) (akin to Old High German haitar (“bright”) [1] > German heiter; Old Norse heiðr (“bright”)) + Sanskrit काय (kāya, “body”), thus “having a spotted body”.
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /ˈt͡ʃiːtə/, /ˈt͡ʃiːtɑ/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -iːtə
- Homophones: Chita; cheater (non-rhotic)
Noun
editcheetah (plural cheetahs)
- 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
edit- guepard (archaic), hunting cat, hunting leopard
Derived terms
editDescendants
editTranslations
editAcinonyx jubatus
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See also
edit- cheetah on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Acinonyx jubatus on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
- Acinonyx jubatus on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
References
editCategories:
- English terms borrowed from Hindi
- English terms derived from Hindi
- English terms derived from Sanskrit
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/iːtə
- Rhymes:English/iːtə/2 syllables
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Felids