Pandas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of large, herbivorous bear native to China that is known for its distinctive black and white markings and primarily feeds on bamboo
2. A species of bear from the mountainous regions of China, characterized by its black and white fur, known for its gentle demeanor and diet mainly consisting of bamboo
3. An animal belonging to the bear family, recognized for its striking coloration and predominantly bamboo-based diet, often associated with conservation efforts worldwide

Etymology: The plural "pandas" is simply the regular plural of "panda," so the story lies in the singular. The name was first attached to the red panda, a small treetop mammal of the Himalayan slopes, and it was not originally a name for the black-and-white bear at all. The likeliest source is a local name for the red panda recorded in Nepal and Sikkim by the British naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson, who was Britain's Resident in Nepal in the nineteenth century. Its first element may come from a Nepali word for a kind of bamboo, the animal's favoured habitat, though the exact origin remains uncertain. The word's second life came later. When the giant panda became known to Western audiences, it borrowed the earlier name, and attributive uses such as "panda cub" or "panda reserve" usually point to that animal's black-and-white coat. The name thus moved from a small reddish animal to a large bear, leaving the red panda with the same word. Separately, a different "panda" entered English from Hindi and Punjabi "pandā," which descends from Sanskrit "paṇḍita," meaning learned man or scholar. That word is a doublet of "pundit," so the two come from the same root by different routes.

Synonyms: bears