mountain lion

English

a mountain lion

Etymology

From mountain (“the animal's habitat”), + lion (“an African cat of similar size and color”). First use appears c. 1615.

Noun

mountain lion (plural mountain lions)

1. A cougar, Puma concolor.

   Hypernym: wild cat

   • 1915 April, Enos A. Mills, “The Forest Frontier”, in The Rocky Mountain Wonderland, Houghton Mifflin, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 64:

     The mountain lion may prowl here during any month.

Synonyms

• American lion
• catamount
• cougar
• deer tiger
• Felis concolor (obsolete)
• ghost cat
• Indian ghost
• mountain ghost
• painted cat
• painter
• puma
• red tiger

Derived terms

• mountain lioness

Translations

Puma concolor — see cougar

See also

• catamount (can refer to the mountain lion)
• catamountain (can refer to the mountain lion)
• panther (can refer to the mountain lion)
• Florida panther (a subspecies of mountain lion)