hippopotamus

hippopotamus
\ \ [16] Etymologically, a hippopotamus is a ‘river horse’. The word comes, via Latin, from late Greek hippopótamos, a lexicalization of an earlier phrase híppos ho potámios, literally ‘horse of the river’. Other English descendants of híppos (a relative of Latin equus ‘horse’) include hippodrome [16], from a Greek compound that meant originally ‘horse-race’ (-drome occurs also in aerodrome and dromedary), and the name Philip, literally ‘lover of horses’. The abbreviation hippo, incidentally, dates from the mid-19th century.
\ \ Cf.⇒ EQUINE, HIPPODROME

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Hippopotamus — Hip po*pot a*mus, n.; pl. E. {Hippopotamuses}, L. {Hippopotami}. [L., from Gr.?; i ppos horse + ? river. Cf. {Equine}.] (Zo[ o]l.) A large, amphibious, herbivorous mammal ({Hippopotamus amphibius}), common in the rivers of tropical Africa. It is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hippopotamus — 1560s, from L.L. hippopotamus, from Gk. hippopotamus riverhorse (earlier ho hippos ho potamios the horse of the river ), from hippos horse (see EQUINE (Cf. equine)) + potamos river, rushing water (see PETITION (Cf. petition)). Replaced M.E …   Etymology dictionary

  • Hippopotamus — bezeichnet: ein Säugetier, siehe Flusspferd eine Eröffnung im Schachspiel, siehe Hippopotamus Eröffnung Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • hippopotamus — [hip΄ə pät′ə məs] n. pl. hippopotamuses, hippopotami [hip΄ə pät′əmī΄] hippopotamus [L < Gr hippopotamos, lit., river horse < hippos (see HIPPO ) + potamos, river, orig., that which goes down < IE base * pet , to fall, fly > FEATHER,… …   English World dictionary

  • Hippopotămus — Hippopotămus, so v.w. Flußpferd …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Hippopotămus — Hippopotămus, Flußpferd; Hippopotamidae, Familie der Huftiere (s. d.) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Hippopotamus — Hippopotămus, s. Nilpferd …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Hippopotamus — Hippopotamus, grch., d. Flußpferd …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • hippopotamus — ► NOUN (pl. hippopotamuses or hippopotami) ▪ a large African mammal with a thick skin and massive jaws, living partly on land and partly in water. ORIGIN Greek hippopotamos, from hippos ho potamios, river horse …   English terms dictionary

  • Hippopotamus — Hippo redirects here. For other uses, see Hippo (disambiguation). This page is about the species Hippopotamus amphibius. For the genus Hippopotamus, see Hippopotamus (genus). Hippopotamus …   Wikipedia

  • hippopotamus — hippopotamic /hip euh peuh tam ik/, hippopotamian /hip euh peuh tay mee euhn/, adj. /hip euh pot euh meuhs/, n., pl. hippopotamuses, hippopotami / muy /. a large herbivorous mammal, Hippopotamus amphibius, having a thick hairless body, short legs …   Universalium

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