eohippus

[ ee-oh-hip-uhs ]

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.

Origin of eohippus

1
1875–80; <New Latin, equivalent to eo-eo- + Greek híppos horse

Words Nearby eohippus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use eohippus in a sentence

  • The oldest of these creatures that lead to the horses is called eohippus or beginning horse.

  • He would not be more astonished than would the ancient eohippus on meeting with a modern dray-horse.

    Theism or Atheism | Chapman Cohen
  • He had framed out another plan for the little eohippus—namely, to give him to Miss Ellinor.

    Bransford of Rainbow Range | Eugene Manlove Rhodes
  • The earliest stage that we can trace with certainty, in this line of descent, is found in the eohippus of Marsh.

    Evolution | Joseph Le Conte
  • Orohippus was but little larger than eohippus, and in most other respects very similar.

    Darwinism (1889) | Alfred Russel Wallace

British Dictionary definitions for eohippus

eohippus

/ (ˌiːəʊˈhɪpəs) /


nounplural -puses
  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

Origin of eohippus

1
C19: New Latin, from eo- + Greek hippos horse

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for eohippus

eohippus

[ ē′ō-hĭpəs ]


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.