ˌhipəˈpäd.əməs, -ätəm- noun
Etymology: Latin, from Greek, from hippo- hipp- + potamos river, from petesthai to fly, dart, rush — more at feather
1. plural hippopotamus·es -sə̇z or hippopota·mi -ˌmī, -(ˌ)mē : any of various large herbivorous four-toed chiefly aquatic mammals of the order Artiodactyla with an extremely large head and mouth, bare and very thick skin, and short legs ; especially : a member of the genus Hippopotamus (as H. amphibius ) formerly common in most rivers of Africa that is except for the elephant the bulkiest existing quadruped and has long canine and incisor teeth that yield a good quality of ivory
2. capitalized
[New Latin, from Latin]
: a genus (the type of the family Hippopotamidae) of mammals that includes the typical hippopotamuses
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