pachyderm

noun pachy·derm \ ˈpa-ki-ˌdərm \

Updated on: 26 Apr 2018

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

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Recent Examples of pachyderm from the Web

But save some camera battery for the Elephant Terrace, too, as its hundreds of stone pachyderms once welcomed the Khmer imperial army back from battle.

— cynthia drescher, Condé Nast Traveler, "3 Days in Siem Reap," 16 Apr. 2018
Aramis Babcock, 19, is one of the students from UTSA’s Honors College who conceived, researched and designed what is essentially a toy to entertain the zoo’s three pachyderms, Lucky, Karen and Nicole.

— vincent t. davis, San Antonio Express-News, "Elephants at Zoo receive enrichment project from UTSA Honors College students," 10 Apr. 2018
One elephant was killed and two others were injured after a truck carrying five pachyderms crashed on a highway.

— travis fedschun, Fox News, "Truck carrying elephants crashes in Spain, at least one animal killed," 2 Apr. 2018
As for the elephant in the room — or lack thereof — the absence of a real pachyderm is dealt with through the occasional sound effect and imagination.

— matthew j. palm, OrlandoSentinel.com, "A mystery ambles along in Garden's 'Tennessee Walk'," 17 Mar. 2018
One carries an undersized, undernourished pachyderm in his arms toward an awaiting helicopter from the Karen Blixen Camp Ree Park Safari.

— National Geographic, "Orphaned Baby Elephant Saved by Helicopter," 1 Jan. 2018
The first star of Marine World was Judy the water-skiing elephant, a pachyderm that trainers placed on pontoon-like skis and dragged into the park’s lagoon.

— peter hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, "Marine World/Africa U.S.A. is gone, but the legend grows," 9 Mar. 2018
After analyzing all the data, the thoughtful pachyderm chose the Eagles.

— PEOPLE.com, "Fiona! April! Puppies! Animals Predicted Super Bowl LII's Winner — Here's Who They All Picked," 2 Feb. 2018
The ultimate goals are to help law enforcement and policy-makers shut down the ivory market and raise public awareness of the plight of pachyderms.

— Bloomberg.com, "Scientists Want to Save Elephants Through Inspecting Seized Ivory," 15 Jan. 2018

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).