PANTHER  , another name for the

leopard (q.v.), also used in America as the name of the puma (q.v.) . The word is an adaptation of Lat. panthera; Gr . 7ravOpp, the supposed derivation of which from eras, all, and Oil p, animal, gave rise to many tales and fables in medieval bestiaries and later scientific works . The panther was supposed to be a distinct animal from the Pardus, pard, the leopard, to which also many legends were attached . In modern times a distinction had been unscientifically drawn between a larger type of leopard to which the name panther was given, and a smaller and more graceful specimen .