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).

Examples of pachyderm in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

All have an emotional texture, especially Rosie, the all-important pachyderm. —Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 14 June 2024

Saturday's cartoons - pushover pachyderms, Biden's mental health, and more Newsletter sign up By The Week US published 4 days ago Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber. —The Week Us, theweek, 8 June 2024

But the pachyderm resists training until Jacob finds just the right words and, with Marlena, makes the intuitive animal into the star attraction. —Frank Rizzo, Variety, 22 Mar. 2024

This programmable pachyderm contains nearly 7 billion transistors, easily 50 percent more than the biggest single FPGA, Xilinx says. —IEEE Spectrum, 30 Dec. 2011

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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Kids Definition

pachyderm

noun

pachy·​derm ˈpak-i-ˌdərm 

: any of various usually thick-skinned mammals (as an elephant or a rhinoceros) that have hooves or nails resembling hooves

especially : elephant