pachyderm

noun

pachy·derm ˈpa-ki-ˌdərm How to pronounce pachyderm (audio)

: any of various nonruminant mammals (such as an elephant, a rhinoceros, or a hippopotamus) of a former group (Pachydermata) that have hooves or nails resembling hooves and usually thick skin

especially : elephant

Did you know?

Pachydermos in Greek means literally "having thick skin" (figuratively, it means "dull" or "stupid"). It's from pachys, meaning "thick," and derma, meaning "skin." In the late 1700s, the French naturalist Georges Cuvier adapted the Greek term as pachyderme for any one of a whole assemblage of hoofed animals having thickish skin: elephants, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, tapirs, horses, pigs, and more. English speakers learned the word from French in the early 1800s. The adjective pachydermatous means "of or relating to the pachyderms" or "thickened" (referring to skin). Not too surprisingly, it also means "callous" or "insensitive" (somewhat unfairly especially to elephants, which are actually known to be rather sensitive).

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web But his book and its cover invite the reader to imagine a public forum in which a red-state pachyderm and a blue-state equine can reason together peaceably and constructively instead of biting and kicking each other.

Martha Bayles, WSJ, 24 June 2022 Unlike my memory of past LXs, the LX 600 F Sport’s steering effort was agreeably light at low speeds, making this parade-day pachyderm easier to park.

Dan Neil, WSJ, 23 June 2022 The Althoff Circus was in town and had arranged a promotional trip for the young pachyderm, who was a minor celebrity in West Germany at the time.

Marcel Krueger, CNN, 16 May 2022 One reason for this reaction is that the bass trombone is the voice of a punchline: No matter how delicately dispatched, its sound is never far removed from that of a baby pachyderm that somehow got into the liquor cabinet.

Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2022 In our hyperpartisan era, the play’s reflections on conformism, groupthink and ideological contagion pack a wallop like a 5,000-pound pachyderm’s stomp.

Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2022 One particularly talented pachyderm, a female called Pawan, could squeak and snort at the same time.

Karen Hopkin, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2021 The elephant proclaims the joys of sustaining the burden of ancient wisdom, but contemporaries almost immediately cottoned to the way the cheerful pachyderm is showing its hindquarters to the Dominican convent that had commissioned it.

Ingrid D. Rowland, The New York Review of Books, 27 Apr. 2021 Around 20 million years ago there lived a prehistoric pachyderm named Deinotherium with twin, curved tusks curving down from the jaw.

Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Dec. 2020 See More

单词	pachyderm
释义	pachyderm noun pachy·derm ˈpa-ki-ˌdərm : any of various nonruminant mammals (such as an elephant, a rhinoceros, or a hippopotamus) of a former group (Pachydermata) that have hooves or nails resembling hooves and usually thick skin especially : elephant Did you know? Pachydermos in Greek means literally "having thick skin" (figuratively, it means "dull" or "stupid"). It's from pachys, meaning "thick," and derma, meaning "skin." In the late 1700s, the French naturalist Georges Cuvier adapted the Greek term as pachyderme for any one of a whole assemblage of hoofed animals having thickish skin: elephants, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, tapirs, horses, pigs, and more. English speakers learned the word from French in the early 1800s. The adjective pachydermatous means "of or relating to the pachyderms" or "thickened" (referring to skin). Not too surprisingly, it also means "callous" or "insensitive" (somewhat unfairly especially to elephants, which are actually known to be rather sensitive). Example Sentences Recent Examples on the Web But his book and its cover invite the reader to imagine a public forum in which a red-state pachyderm and a blue-state equine can reason together peaceably and constructively instead of biting and kicking each other. Martha Bayles, WSJ, 24 June 2022 Unlike my memory of past LXs, the LX 600 F Sport’s steering effort was agreeably light at low speeds, making this parade-day pachyderm easier to park. Dan Neil, WSJ, 23 June 2022 The Althoff Circus was in town and had arranged a promotional trip for the young pachyderm, who was a minor celebrity in West Germany at the time. Marcel Krueger, CNN, 16 May 2022 One reason for this reaction is that the bass trombone is the voice of a punchline: No matter how delicately dispatched, its sound is never far removed from that of a baby pachyderm that somehow got into the liquor cabinet. Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2022 In our hyperpartisan era, the play’s reflections on conformism, groupthink and ideological contagion pack a wallop like a 5,000-pound pachyderm’s stomp. Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2022 One particularly talented pachyderm, a female called Pawan, could squeak and snort at the same time. Karen Hopkin, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2021 The elephant proclaims the joys of sustaining the burden of ancient wisdom, but contemporaries almost immediately cottoned to the way the cheerful pachyderm is showing its hindquarters to the Dominican convent that had commissioned it. Ingrid D. Rowland, The New York Review of Books, 27 Apr. 2021 Around 20 million years ago there lived a prehistoric pachyderm named Deinotherium with twin, curved tusks curving down from the jaw. Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Dec. 2020 See More Word History Etymology French pachyderme, from Greek pachydermos thick-skinned, from pachys thick + derma skin; akin to Sanskrit bahu dense, much — more at derm- First Known Use 1828, in the meaning defined above
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pachyderm

noun

Did you know?

Example Sentences

Word History