Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various large, thick-skinned, hoofed mammals such as the elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Thick-skinned, as a member of the Pachydermata. Also pachydermal, pachydermatous, pachydermous.
- n. A non-ruminant hoofed quadruped; any member of the old order Pachydermata.
Wiktionary
- n. Someone (or something) with thick skin. It is used for animals such as an elephant or a hippopotamus.
- n. A member of the obsolete taxonomic group Pachydermata, grouping of thick-skinned, hoofed animals such as the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephant, pig and horse.
- n. An elephant
- n. A person that is not affected by (does not care about) what others say about him or her.
- n. Someone who is insensitive.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Any of various nonruminant hoofed mammals having very thick skin, including the elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, one of the Pachydermata.
WordNet 3.0
- n. any of various nonruminant hoofed mammals having very thick skin: elephant; rhinoceros; hippopotamus.
Etymologies
- French pachyderme, from New Latin *Pachyderma, sing. of Pachydermata, obsolete order name, from Greek pakhudermos, thick-skinned : pakhus, thick + derma, skin; see derma1.
Examples
“The paper said the pachyderm is estimated to be 18 years old and is the fifth white elephant captured since 2001.”
Voice of America: Burma Says White Elephant Foretells Peace, Prosperity
“Dismissing constitutional checks and balances, which cannot resist it or deflect its course, the presidential pachyderm is spurred only by forces that stand outside institutions -- the media and the street.”
“To be in politics, a person is better off, bein 'called a pachyderm, rather than a weasel.”
“For example, "Elephants" actually features brass recalling a pachyderm call, accompanied by string screeches sounding like wayward seabirds.”
“Googling "pachyderm" repeatedly and not getting the desired result.”
“BBB when you can show me something in the asinus or pachyderm bill that shows where government is forcing doctors to work for a government run health care operation to provide public health care services you are just parroting things you have heard.”
“Jwest, a pachyderm sleeping on the job doesnt call the shots.”
Think Progress » Inhofe trying to get Bunning to end filibuster so highway funding doesn’t expire.
“Just the horn of an irascible, endangered pachyderm.”
“Although I have to say, at risk of losing my status as a sycophant (and when did a term for crazy members of the pachyderm family become the descriptor for a slavish follower? ba-dum-bum) that the "if I'm pissing people off on both sides of an issue then I must be right" ain't necessarily so.”
“Now, preventative measures are being taken to preserve the pachyderm population in the region.”
Voice of America: New Efforts Aim to Protect Elephants in India
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pachyderm’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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