Hippopotamus
/ˌhɪp.əˈpɒt.ə.məs/noun
A large heavy-bodied African mammal with thick skin, short legs, and a wide mouth.
Did you know?Its name comes from Greek ἱπποπόταμος (hippopótamos), a compound that literally means “river horse,” and the word reached English through Latin and French as a learned borrowing.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁éḱwos
“horse”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἵππος (hippos)
“horse”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ποταμός (potamós)
“river”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἱπποπόταμος (hippopótamos)
“river horse, hippopotamus”
Latin
Latin
hippopotamus
“hippopotamus”
Middle French
French
hippopotame
“hippopotamus”
Modern English
English
hippopotamus
“the hippopotamus”
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