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.
Nearby words
ocellate, ocellated, ocellated turkey, ocellation, ocellus, ocelot, och, oche, ocher, ochlesis, ochlesitic
Origin of ocelot
1765–75; < French, apparently arbitrary shortening of Nahuatl tlālōcēlōtl ocelot, equivalent to tlāl(li) earth, land + ōcēlōtl jaguar
Related formsoc·e·loid, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for ocelot
British Dictionary definitions 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
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Word Origin and History for ocelot
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