rhinoceros

[rahy-nos-er-uh s]

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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).

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

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
This left them, in the end, with “rhinoceros” and “anthropoid.”
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man
John Lardner
May 17, 2014
In and among the rest he inserted the words “rhinoceros” and “anthropoid.”
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man
John Lardner
May 17, 2014
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

Historical Examples of rhinoceros

Perhaps some aged or weak lion had not been permitted a share of that rhinoceros.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
It did not need Mali-ya-bwana's whispered "faru" (rhinoceros) to identify the mound.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
In the matter of rhinoceros and similar dangers, they simply took a chance.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
The general aspect of the Rhinoceros is that of a hog in armor on a grand scale.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 15, July 9, 1870
Various
He has the constitution of a rhinoceros, the digestion of an ostrich, and the concentration of an oyster.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for rhinoceros

rhinoceros

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 Formsrhinocerotic (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

Word Origin and History for rhinoceros

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]