appaloosa · noun1
From a + Palouse + -a. From the phrase "a Palouse horse", referring to the Palouse River near which they were first encountered by non-Native Americans. The river is named for the Palouse region.
appaloosa · noun2
Ellipsis of Appaloosa cat, itself an ellipsis of Apaloosa catfish, after the Appalousa people of Louisiana.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.