rhinoceros
[rahy-nos-er-uh s]
- 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).
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Origin of rhinoceros
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for rhinoceros
Contemporary Examples
It surpasses the paintings of horses and rhinoceros from the Chauvet Cave in France by 400 years.
South Africa is the most dangerous place in the world to be a rhinoceros.
This left them, in the end, with “rhinoceros” and “anthropoid.”
In and among the rest he inserted the words “rhinoceros” and “anthropoid.”
The rhinoceros, again looking pretty aimless and beaten down, was made—beautifully—of papier mache.
Historical Examples
Perhaps some aged or weak lion had not been permitted a share of that rhinoceros.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
It did not need Mali-ya-bwana's whispered "faru" (rhinoceros) to identify the mound.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
In the matter of rhinoceros and similar dangers, they simply took a chance.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
The general aspect of the Rhinoceros is that of a hog in armor on a grand scale.
He has the constitution of a rhinoceros, the digestion of an ostrich, and the concentration of an oyster.
Little DorritCharles Dickens
rhinoceros
- 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
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for rhinoceros
n.
c.1300, from Latin rhinoceros, from Greek rhinokeros, literally "nose-horned," from rhinos "nose" (a word of unknown origin) + keras "horn" (see kerato-). Related: Rhinocerotic.
What is the plural of rhinoceros? ... Well, Liddell and Scott seem to authorize 'rhinocerotes,' which is pedantic, but 'rhinoceroses' is not euphonious. [Sir Charles Eliot, "The East Africa Protectorate," 1905]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper