hippopotamus
/ˌhɪpəˈpɒtəməs/hih-puh-PO-tuh-muhs
/ˌhɪpəˈpɑtəməs/hih-puh-PAH-tuh-muhs
Meaningriver horse
Common meaning: a large river mammal ('river horse')
- hippa horseLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 382 · scan
- potamriver (Greek potamos)
- usLatin noun ending
Journey through time
- Greekἵππος‘a horse’
- Latinhippopotamus
- Englishhippopotamus‘a large river mammal ('river horse')’ · today
hipp also in: hippodrome
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek ἵππος ‘a horse’.
Roots
- ἵππος Greek “a horse”
Related words
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