ocelot

[ os-uh-lot, oh-suh- ]

/ ˈɒs əˌlɒt, ˈoʊ sə- /

a spotted leopardlike cat, Felis pardalis, ranging from Texas through South America: now greatly reduced in number and endangered in the U.S.

Origin of ocelot

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

oc·e·loid, adjective

In dissecting an ocelot at the Zoological Gardens in 1883, a forked line was found immediately over the fork of the jugular vein.

Colouration in Animals and Plants |Alfred Tylor
Then, as he peered uncertainly at it, Huetzin launched himself forward with a spring like that of an ocelot.

The White Conquerors |Kirk Munroe
The first ocelot was a tawny yellow and the second was a reddish gray.

The Texan Star |Joseph A. Altsheler
The lion is unknown in America, but the creature which most nearly takes his place is the puma or ocelot.

The Red Man's Continent |Ellsworth Huntington

A few animals, among others the ocelot, inhabited the thickets.

In Search of the Castaways |Jules Verne

ocelot

/ (ˈɒsɪˌlɒt, ˈəʊ-) /

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

C18: via French from Nahuatl ocelotl jaguar