ocelot
[ os-uh-lot, oh-suh- ]
/ ˈɒs əˌlɒt, ˈoʊ sə- /
noun
a spotted leopardlike cat, Felis pardalis, ranging from Texas through South America: now greatly reduced in number and endangered in the U.S.
RELATED WORDS
puma, panther, tabby, kitty, lynx, tiger, cougar, lion, puss, kitten, leopard, bobcat, jaguar, tomcat, pussy, tom, cheetah, mouser, grimalkin, malkin
Nearby words
Origin of ocelot
1765–75; < French, apparently arbitrary shortening of Nahuatl tlālōcēlōtl ocelot, equivalent to tlāl(li) earth, land + ōcēlōtl jaguar
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for ocelot
ocelot
/ (ˈɒsɪˌlɒt, ˈəʊ-) /
noun
a feline mammal, Felis pardalis, inhabiting the forests of Central and South America and having a dark-spotted buff-brown coat
Word Origin for ocelot
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
ocelot
"large wildcat of Central and South America," 1775, from French ocelot, a word formed by French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788), from Nahuatl ocelotl "jaguar" (in full tlalocelotl, a compound formed with tlalli "field").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper