HIPPOPOTAMUS

[hip.po.pot.a.mus] n, pl -mus.es or -mi [L, fr. Gk hippopotamos, alter. of hippos potamios, lit., riverine horse] (1563): a very large herbivorous 4-toed chiefly aquatic artiodactyl mammal (Hippopotamus amphibius) of sub-Saharan Africa with an extremely large head and mouth, bare and very thick grayish skin, and short legs; also: a smaller closely related mammal (Choeropsis liberiensis) of western Africa