The etymology of the word from Sanskrit is disputable. Going by Burrow's etymological dictionary it is a Dravidian word. Here is the link: http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:2.burrow. The Dravidian words 'cirate' (Kannada), ciruttai (tamil) must have become 'cheetah' in Hindi and other Prakrit languages. Need to include the probable Dravidian root too along with Sanskrit.