pardine

adj. relating to a pard.

adj. relating to a leopard; spotted like a leopard; relating to a pard (leopard or panther).

---

You learn two words in one with this email! Pard is an archaic word for big cats such as leopards or panthers — it’s right in the name of leopards (leo, meaning lion, and pard). And if something is pardine, it either has to do with leopards, or has to do with leopard’s spots.

I went dancing instead, and pursued the peccary with pardine limers.
The Shadow of the Torturer Gene Wolf

---

Etymology, working backward:

• English pard (leopard, panther)

  • Middle English parde (same meaning)

    • Latin pardus (male leopard)

      • Ancient Greek πάρδος / pardos (leopard, panther)

  • English -ine (suffix denoting relation to or pertaining to)

    • Middle English -ine (same meaning)

      • Old French -ine (same meaning)

        • Latin -inus (suffix denoting relation to or pertaining to)

          • Proto Indo European root -inhos (adjective creatior)

            • Proto Indo European root -hos (verbal adjective creator)

---

Usage, according to the Google’s NGrams Viewer (may not be perfectly accurate):

For context, note that ‘the’ usually floats at ~4%.

---