Rhinoceros
/raɪˈnɒsərəs/noun
A large, thick-skinned mammal with one or two horns on its snout.
Did you know?The word comes straight from Greek rhis/rhinos (“nose”) + keras (“horn”), so the animal was essentially labeled for the horn sitting on its nose, and the same keras root also appears in English words like unicorn’s horned imagery through ancient mythic language.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ῥινόκερως (rhinókerōs)
“Literally “nose-horn,” a name for the horned animal”
Late Latin
Latin
rhinoceros
“A rhinoceros, borrowed from Greek”
Old French
Old French
rhinoceros
“A rhinoceros”
16th Century
English
rhinoceros
“A rhinoceros, especially the large horned mammal from Africa and Asia”
Modern English
English
rhinoceros
“A large thick-skinned mammal with one or two horns on its snout”