Panda
mid 19th century: apparently from a local language of Nepal.
wiktionary
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, [1] 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”)) [2] + a regional Tibetan name for the animal (compare regional Tibetan ཕོ་ཉ(pho nya, “messenger”)). [3]
Attributive uses of sense 2 (“giant panda”) generally refer to that animal’s distinctive black and white coat colour. [3]
Borrowed from Hindi पंडा(paṇḍā) and Punjabi ਪਾਂਡਾ(pāṇḍā), both from Sanskrit पण्डित(paṇḍita, “learned, wise; learned man, pundit, scholar, teacher; Hindu Brahmin who has memorized a substantial proportion of the Vedas”). Doublet of pundit. [4]
etymonline
panda (n.)
1835, in reference to a carnivorous raccoon-like mammal (the lesser panda) of the Himalayas, from French, apparently from the Nepalese name of the animal. The first reference in English to the Giant Panda is from 1901; since its discovery in 1869 by French missionary Armand David (1826-1900) it had been known as parti-colored bear, but the name was changed after the zoological relationship to the red panda was established.
