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Definition of pachyderm
: 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
From the M-W Editors
pachyderm was our Word of the Day on 07/28/2015. Hear the podcast!
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Recent Examples of pachyderm from the Web
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Thanks to the quick, collected thinking of the pachyderm pair, the calf walked away from the incident uninjured.
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Elephant figurines, including a pachyderm piggy bank, perch on tables and shelves.
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The performing pachyderms, which typically paraded down the street to signal the arrival of the circus in a town, were staple of Ringling Brothers for years.
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After observing a pair of African elephant matriarchs for more than a month, scientists found that the venerable pachyderms slept an average of just two hours per night, according to a new study in the journal PLOS One.
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This pachyderm flotilla has a dangerous destination in mind: The grassy shores of Namibia, where elephants are literally free game for legal hunters.
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In the 1967 film, the elephants are amusingly buffoonish and march in a pachyderm parade as their leader invokes his time with the maharajah.
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Morgan’s long march comes as a welcome reprieve from all the bad news in the pachyderm world.
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The pachyderms take the path of least resistance and keep out.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pachyderm'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 and used it 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 to elephants, which are actually known to be rather sensitive).
Origin and Etymology of pachyderm
French pachyderme, from Greek pachydermos thick-skinned, from pachys thick + derma skin; akin to Sanskrit bahu dense, much — more at derm-
PACHYDERM Defined for English Language Learners
pachyderm
playDefinition of pachyderm for English Language Learners
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: a type of animal that has hooves and thick skin
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