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hippopotamus
[ hip-uh-pot-uh-muhs ]
/ ˌhɪp əˈpɒt ə məs /
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noun, plural hip·po·pot·a·mus·es, hip·po·pot·a·mi [hip-uh-pot-uh-mahy]. /ˌhɪp əˈpɒt əˌmaɪ/.
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.
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Origin of hippopotamus
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
OTHER WORDS FROM hippopotamus
hip·po·po·tam·ic [hip-uh-puh-tam-ik], /ˌhɪp ə pəˈtæm ɪk/, hip·po·po·ta·mi·an [hip-uh-puh-tey-mee-uhn], /ˌhɪp ə pəˈteɪ mi ən/, adjectiveWords nearby hippopotamus
Hippolytus, Hippomenes, hippophagist, hippophagy, hippophile, hippopotamus, Hippo Regius, Hippo Zarytus, hippuric acid, hippus, hippy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use hippopotamus in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for hippopotamus
hippopotamus
/ (ˌhɪpəˈpɒtəməs) /
noun plural -muses or -mi (-ˌmaɪ)
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
pigmy hippopotamus a related but smaller animal, Choeropsis liberiensis
Word Origin for hippopotamus
C16: from Latin, from Greek hippopotamos river horse, from hippos horse + potamos river
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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