ocelot

Where does the word "ocelot" come from? It comes from Nahuatl ocelotl, passing through French before entering English (1700s-1800s).

Ocelot’s story begins in Nahuatl: ocelotl meant “a spotted wild cat.” The Nahuatl name for the spotted wild cat. By 1700s, the word had taken hold in French as ocelot. Buffon's naturalist writings popularized it, from Nahuatl 'ocelotl', jaguar. It reached English by 1700s-1800s as ocelot. First recorded in English in 1775; Buffon took the name from Nahuatl, where 'ocelotl' actually meant the jaguar. Today, ocelot means a small, spotted wild cat native to Central and South America.

1. Stage 1 · Nahuatl · pre-1500s ocelotl "a spotted wild cat", the Nahuatl name for the spotted wild cat.
2. Stage 2 · French · 1700s ocelot "a small spotted wild cat", Buffon's naturalist writings popularized it, from Nahuatl 'ocelotl', jaguar.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1700s-1800s ocelot "a small, spotted wild cat of the Americas", first recorded in English in 1775; Buffon took the name from Nahuatl, where 'ocelotl' actually meant the jaguar.