Hipparion
/hɪˈpær.i.ən/noun
An extinct genus of three-toed horses that lived mainly from the Miocene to the Pleistocene.
Did you know?Hipparion was not a direct ancestor of modern horses, but one of several successful three-toed horse lineages that disappeared as one-toed horses became dominant.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁éḱwos
“Horse; the reconstructed ancestral root behind Greek híppos and Latin equus.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἵππος (híppos)
“Horse.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἱππάριον (hippárion)
“Little horse; a diminutive formed from híppos.”
1832
Scientific Latin
Hipparion
“A fossil genus name coined for an extinct horse relative.”
Modern English
English
hipparion
“A three-toed extinct horse, especially one belonging to the genus Hipparion.”
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