The name "panda" originates with a Himalayan language, possibly Nepali. As used in the West the name was originally applied to the red panda. Until its relation to the red panda was discovered in 1901, the giant panda was known as Mottled Bear (Ailuropus melanoleucus) or Particolored Bear.
The Chinese language name for the giant panda, 大熊貓, literally translates to "large bear cat," or just "bear cat" (熊貓). There are two explanations for the origin of this name.
Physiologically, the eyes of most other bear species have round pupils, but the giant pandas have pupils that are vertical slits like cats' eyes. These unusual eyes, combined with its ability to effortlessly scale trees, maybe what inspired the Chinese to call the panda the "bear cat." However, this explanation seem unlikely as locals from different provinces use names such as "spotted bear" (花熊) and "bamboo bear" (竹熊) for giant panda, which shows that the farmers are more likely to use "bear" as the noun when they see an obviously bear-sized animal.
On the other hand, some researchers believe that the name "bear cat," originally belonged to the red panda, which also live on bamboo in China, and they are actually cat-size. When Himalayan first saw giant panda, they named it "large bear cat," due to the similaries in behaviors and habitat. This will also explain why Chinese zoological texts and dictionaries published in the early 20th centuries, before the series of civil wars, always used the word "large" in the name and never just "bear cat."
