pachyderm

[ pak-i-durm ]

noun

1. any of the thick-skinned, nonruminant ungulates, as elephants, hippopotamuses, and rhinoceroses.
2. an elephant.
3. a person who is not sensitive to criticism, ridicule, etc.; a thick-skinned person.

pachyderm

/ ˈpækɪˌdɜːm /

noun

1. any very large thick-skinned mammal, such as an elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus

pachyderm

/ păk′ĭ-dûrm′ /

1. Any of various large, thick-skinned mammals, such as the elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus.

Derived Forms

• ˌpachyˈdermatous, adjective

Other Words From

• pachy·dermal pachy·dermous pachy·dermic pachy·dermoid adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pachyderm¹

First recorded in 1825–30; from French pachyderme, from New Latin Pachyderma, singular of Pachydermata (plural) obsolete order name, from Greek pachý(s) “thick” + -dérmata, neuter plural of -dermatos “-skinned,” adjective derivative of dermat-, stem of dérma “skin”; derma ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of pachyderm¹

C19: from French pachyderme, from Greek pakhudermos thick-skinned, from pakhus thick + derma skin

Example Sentences

There is hope that once Osh, a male, arrives at the sanctuary, the 30-year-old pachyderm will reunite with Donna, the zoo’s last remaining female African elephant that was relocated there last year.

From Los Angeles Times

The sound of a vehicle backfiring spooked a circus elephant while she was getting a pre-show bath in Butte, Montana, leading the pachyderm to break through a fence and take a brief walk, stopping noontime traffic on the city’s busiest street before being loaded back into a trailer.

From Seattle Times

The vanishing pachyderm in that metaphor is the question of what Donald Trump will do to American democracy if he again becomes president.

From Salon

The pachyderm could be heard trumpeting from inside the container that was loaded onto a truck’s flatbed trailer to transport him to the government’s Thai Elephant Conservation Center in nearby Lampang province, where he will be quarantined for at least 30 days and stay for rehabilitation.

From Washington Times

The pachyderm could be heard trumpeting from inside his cage inside the truck that was to transport him to the government’s Thai Elephant Conservation Center in the nearby Lampang province, where he will be quarantined for at least 30 days and stay for rehabilitation.

From Seattle Times