hippopotamus

[ hip-uh-pot-uh-muhs ]

noun

, plural hip·po·pot·a·mus·es, hip·po·pot·a·mi [hip-, uh, -, pot, -, uh, -mahy].

1. a large herbivorous mammal, Hippopotamus amphibius, having a thick hairless body, short legs, and a large head and muzzle, found in and near the rivers, lakes, etc., of Africa, and able to remain under water for a considerable time.

hippopotamus

/ ˌhɪpəˈpɒtəməs /

noun

1. a very large massive gregarious artiodactyl mammal, Hippopotamus amphibius, living in or around the rivers of tropical Africa: family Hippopotamidae. It has short legs and a thick skin sparsely covered with hair
2. pigmy hippopotamus
   a related but smaller animal, Choeropsis liberiensis

Other Words From

• hip·po·po·tam·ic [hip-, uh, -p, uh, -, tam, -ik], hip·po·po·ta·mi·an [hip-, uh, -p, uh, -, tey, -mee-, uh, n], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hippopotamus¹

1555–65; < Latin < Greek hippopótamos, earlier híppos potámios literally, riverine horse (term used by Herodotus in his account of the Egyptian hippopotamus); compare Middle English ypotame, ypotamos, ypotanus < Old French ypotame < Medieval Latin ypotamus

Word History and Origins

Origin of hippopotamus¹

C16: from Latin, from Greek hippopotamos river horse, from hippos horse + potamos river

Example Sentences

Yang has been known to portray the iceberg that sank the Titanic or the adorable Thai pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng.

From Salon

An "incredibly rare" female baby hippopotamus has been born at Edinburgh Zoo.

From BBC

During the 50th season premiere of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Jean Smart, Yang's sketch as the pygmy hippopotamus caught some pushback from people online for "mocking" Chappell Roan and her struggles, having canceled performances for mental health reasons in the wake of controversy surrounding her politically charged statements in the past weeks.

From Salon

A baby hippopotamus is causing a fan frenzy in Thailand.

From BBC

This week she made her international television debut after a crew from the All-Nippon News Network, a Japanese TV station, visited the zoo to film a report on the hippopotamus superstar.

From BBC