hippo-

¹ American  

1. a combining form appearing in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “horse” (hippodrome ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (hippology ).

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hippo ² American  

[hip-oh] / ˈhɪp oʊ /

noun

Informal.

plural

hippos

1. hippopotamus.

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Hippo ³ American  

[hip-oh] / ˈhɪp oʊ /

noun

1. Hippo Regius.

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hippo British  

/ ˈhɪpəʊ /

noun

1. short for hippopotamus

2. an armoured police car

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Etymology

Origin of hippo-¹

< Greek: combining form of híppos; cognate with Latin equus, Old Irish ech, Old English eoh, Sanskrit aśvas, Lithuanian ašvà

Origin of hippo¹

By shortening

Example Sentences

Speaking in four different languages, Pepe shares its impressions about being uprooted from its African homeland and on the power dynamics among the hippos once in South America.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s easy to dismiss something like that as a unicorn moment,” Stewart said, “but we had seven bidders on that hippo.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Judy, the first rabbit to join the city's police force, has proven to her macho colleagues — buffaloes, hippos, and warthogs — that she deserves her place in the investigative department.

From Barron's

Goat, hippo and duck-shaped hot air balloons floated in clear blue skies over war-ravaged Myanmar this week in a rare opportunity for escapism.

From Barron's

Ancient DNA sequencing revealed that these Ice Age hippos were closely related to modern African populations and were part of the same species.

From Science Daily