ocelot

[ os-uh-lot, oh-suh- ]
See synonyms for ocelot on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a spotted leopardlike cat, Felis pardalis, ranging from Texas through South America: now greatly reduced in number and endangered in the U.S.

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Origin of ocelot

1
1765–75; <French, apparently arbitrary shortening of Nahuatl tlālōcēlōtl ocelot, equivalent to tlāl(li) earth, land + ōcēlōtl jaguar

Other words from ocelot

  • oc·e·loid, adjective

Words Nearby ocelot

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How to use ocelot in a sentence

  • The hounds, who well knew where the ocelot had gone to, were chasing it from tree to tree; but still it continued to elude them.

    In the Wilds of Florida | W.H.G. Kingston
  • Now and then a wolf would approach, or a puma, or ocelot; but a shout would send them to the rightabout.

    In the Wilds of Florida | W.H.G. Kingston
  • I soon reloaded and hurried after Trusty, who was barking round a small oak in which the ocelot had sought shelter.

  • The ocelot is found only in forest districts, and is an excellent climber, spending most of its life in the trees.

  • The animal called the margay is really a kind of small ocelot, and it is sometimes known as the tiger-cat.

British Dictionary definitions for ocelot

ocelot

/ (ˈɒsɪˌlɒt, ˈəʊ-) /


noun
  1. a feline mammal, Felis pardalis, inhabiting the forests of Central and South America and having a dark-spotted buff-brown coat

Origin of ocelot

1
C18: via French from Nahuatl ocelotl jaguar

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012