artiodactyl

noun

ar·​tio·​dac·​tyl ˌär-tē-ō-ˈdak-tᵊl 

: any of an order (Artiodactyla) of ungulates (such as the camel or pig) with an even number of functional toes on each foot

artiodactyl adjective

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

To understand this variation, researchers compared the habitats and behavior of 63 species, including members of every living artiodactyl group except hippos and whales. —Nala Rogers, Discover Magazine, 15 Nov. 2018

Word History

Etymology

from the base of New Latin Artiodactyla, division of ungulates, from Greek ártios "right, fitting, even (of numbers)" (derivative from árti "just now," arti- "fitting, correct") + -o- -o- + New Latin -dactyla, neuter plural of -dactylus "having digits (of the kind specified)," borrowed from Greek -daktylos, adjective derivative of dáktylos "finger, toe" — more at art entry 1, dactyl

Note: The taxon Artiodactyla was introduced, along with Perissodactyla (see perissodactyl), by the British biologist and paleontologist Richard Owen (1804-92) in "Description of Teeth and portions of Jaws of two extinct Anthracotherioid Quadrupeds … with an attempt to develop cuvier's idea of the Classification of Pachyderms by the Number of their Toes," communication of November 3, 1847, published in The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, vol. 4 (1848), pp. 103-41.

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined above