hippopotamus

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Ordinarily all that can be seen of a hippopotamus is his head or his back, sticking up out of the water.

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Definitions (7)

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  1. noun A large, chiefly aquatic African herbivorous mammal (Hippopotamus amphibius) having thick, dark, almost hairless skin, short legs with four toes, and a broad, wide-mouthed muzzle. Also called river horse.
  2. noun The pygmy hippopotamus.

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin, from Greek hippopotamos : hippos, horse; see ekwo- in Indo-European roots + potamos, river; see pet- in Indo-European roots.

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  1. In earlier form contr. hippotame, q. v.; = French hippopotame = Spanish hipopótamo = Portuguese hippopotamo = Italian ippopotamo, from Latin hippopotamus, from Greek ἱπποπόταμος, a river-horse, an irreg. formation arising from the earlier phrase name ἵππος, ποτάμιοσ, σ2, where ποτάμιος, is an adjective (from ποταμός, river), qualifying ἱππος, horse. Another name was ὁἱππος, τοῦ, Νείλου, ‘the horse of the Nile.’
 

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/hɪpəˈpɑtəməs/
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