eohippus

American  

[ee-oh-hip-uhs] / ˌi oʊˈhɪp əs /

noun

1. the earliest known horse, a member of the extinct genus Hyracotherium (Eohippus ), from the early Eocene Epoch of the Northern Hemisphere; a terrier-sized herbivore having four hoofed toes on each forefoot and three on each hind foot, and low-crowned teeth.

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eohippus British  

/ ˌiːəʊˈhɪpəs /

noun

1. the earliest horse: an extinct Eocene dog-sized animal of the genus with four-toed forelegs, three-toed hindlegs, and teeth specialized for browsing

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eohippus Scientific  

/ ē′ō-hĭp′əs /

1. See hyracotherium

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Etymology

Origin of eohippus

1875–80; < New Latin, equivalent to eo- eo- + Greek híppos horse

Example Sentences

The stranger pressed into Jeff’s hand something small and hard—the little eohippus.

From Bransford of Rainbow Range Originally Published under the title of Bransford in Arcadia, or, The Little Eohippus by Rhodes, Eugene Manlove

The little eohippus stared unwinking from the grass.

From Bransford of Rainbow Range Originally Published under the title of Bransford in Arcadia, or, The Little Eohippus by Rhodes, Eugene Manlove

If the Eocene progenitor of the horse, the little four-toed eohippus, had been cut off, would not the world have been horseless to-day?

From Time and Change by Burroughs, John

I had a jeweler-man put five toes on his feet once to make him be a little eohippus.

From Bransford of Rainbow Range Originally Published under the title of Bransford in Arcadia, or, The Little Eohippus by Rhodes, Eugene Manlove

Because of the little eohippus, you know—and other things you said.”

From Bransford of Rainbow Range Originally Published under the title of Bransford in Arcadia, or, The Little Eohippus by Rhodes, Eugene Manlove