panda
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpændə/
homophone: pander (non-rhotic)
rhymes: -ændə
Forms: form: pandas
Etymology: Borrowed from French panda, of unclear ultimate origin but probably from the second element of nigálya-pónya, a local name for the red panda recorded in Nepal and Sikkim by Brian Houghton Hodgson (1800 or 1801 – 1894), an ethnologist, naturalist and the British Resident of Nepal, possibly from Nepali निँगाले (nĩgāle, “relating to a certain species of bamboo”) (the adjectival form of निँगालो (nĩgālo), a variant of निङालो (niṅālo, “Drepanostachyum intermedium, a species of bamboo”)) + a regional Tibetan name for the animal (compare regional Tibetan ཕོ་ཉ (pho nya, “messenger”)).
Attributive uses of sense 2 (“giant panda”) generally refer to that animal’s distinctive black and white coat colour.
Senses: examples: text: The red panda's history in zoos begins some 40 years after its discovery. The first one to be seen outside of its natural range arrived at London Zoo on 22nd May 1869, [...] On arrival at the zoo, the last surviving panda was given into the care of Abraham Bartlett, the superintendent of the zoo. [...] The feeding instructions that came with the panda said it should be given milk, a little rice and grass each day. [...] Bartlett felt that the suggested diet was not adequate and set out to find what the animal would accept; [...] Unfortunately, although it ate well, this first zoo red panda was not destined for a long life, it died suddenly during the night of 12 December 1869, a little over 6 months after its arrival.
ref: 2011, Angela R. Glatston, “Introduction”, in Angela R. Glatston, editor, Red Panda: Biology and Conservation of the First Panda, London; Burlington, Mass.: Academic Press, →ISBN, page 7:
synonyms: word: bear cat
word: cat bear
word: lesser panda
word: wah
glosses: The red panda (Ailurus fulgens), a small raccoon-like animal of northeast Asia with reddish fur and a long, ringed tail.
raw_tags: without a qualifying word
synonyms: word: mottled bear
word: panda bear
glosses: Ellipsis of giant panda (“Ailuropoda melanoleuca”).
examples: text: Before the confrontation, the youth sighted a police personnel carrier, two dog patrol vans, a motorway style car, at least two pandas and one unmarked police car.
ref: 1975, Darcus Howe, editor, Race Today, London: Race Today Collective, →OCLC, page 279:
topics: government
law-enforcement
glosses: Ellipsis of panda car (“a black-and-white police car”).
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: dumpster panda
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: garbage panda
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: trash panda
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: happy panda
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
alt: Mutillidae spp.
word: panda ant
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: panda car
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: panda crossing
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: panda diplomacy
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: panda dolphin
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: panda eyes
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: panda hugger
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: pandalike
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: pandamonium
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
alt: †Ailuropoda microta
word: pygmy giant panda
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: reverse panda
sense: Terms derived from panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
word: sad panda