rhinoceros

[ rahy-nos-er-uh s ]

/ raɪˈnɒs ər əs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rhinoceros ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural rhi·noc·er·os·es, (especially collectively) rhi·noc·er·os.

any of several large, thick-skinned, perissodactyl mammals of the family Rhinocerotidae, of Africa and India, having one or two upright horns on the snout: all rhinoceroses are endangered.

Douay Bible. unicorn(def 4).

Nearby words

rhino-, rhinoantritis, rhinocanthectomy, rhinocele, rhinocephaly, rhinoceros, rhinoceros beetle, rhinoceros bird, rhinocheiloplasty, rhinocladiella, rhinocleisis

Origin of rhinoceros

1300–50; Middle English rinoceros < Late Latin rhīnoceros < Greek rhīnókerōs, equivalent to rhīno- rhino- + -kerōs -horned, adj. derivative of kéras horn (of an animal)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rhinoceros

It surpasses the paintings of horses and rhinoceros from the Chauvet Cave in France by 400 years.
The Oldest Cave Art May Not Be in Europe|Justin Jones|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
South Africa is the most dangerous place in the world to be a rhinoceros.
South Africa’s Great Rhino Airlift|Nina Strochlic|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This left them, in the end, with “rhinoceros” and “anthropoid.”
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man|John Lardner|May 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In and among the rest he inserted the words “rhinoceros” and “anthropoid.”
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man|John Lardner|May 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The rhinoceros, again looking pretty aimless and beaten down, was made—beautifully—of papier mache.
How to Catch a Depressed Gorilla, Japanese-Style|Tim Teeman|February 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He has the constitution of a rhinoceros, the digestion of an ostrich, and the concentration of an oyster.
Little Dorrit|Charles Dickens
Next to the mighty elephant, the rhinoceros is the largest and strongest of animals.
New National Fourth Reader|Charles J. Barnes and J. Marshall Hawkes
Sometimes it brings them to a rhinoceros, wallowing in a mud pool.
Insect Architecture|James Rennie
Apparent survival of the sabre-tooth tiger and the Etruscan rhinoceros in favored regions.
Men of the Old Stone Age|Henry Fairfield Osborn
The form of the rhinoceros is clumsy and uncouth; while its appearance is dull and heavy.
The World and Its People: Book VII|Anna B. Badlam

British Dictionary definitions for rhinoceros

rhinoceros

/ (raɪˈnɒsərəs, -ˈnɒsrəs) /

noun plural -oses or -os

any of several perissodactyl mammals constituting the family Rhinocerotidae of SE Asia and Africa and having either one horn on the nose, like the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), or two horns, like the African white rhinoceros (Diceros simus) They have a very thick skin, massive body, and three digits on each foot

Derived Forms

rhinocerotic (ˌraɪnəʊsɪˈrɒtɪk), adjective

Word Origin for rhinoceros

C13: via Latin from Greek rhinokerōs, from rhis nose + keras horn

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

rhinoceros

noun, plural rhi·noc·er·os·es, (especially collectively) rhi·noc·er·os.

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Nearby words

Origin of rhinoceros

Examples from the Web for rhinoceros

British Dictionary definitions for rhinoceros

rhinoceros

noun plural -oses or -os

Derived Forms

Word Origin for rhinoceros