ˈekwəˌdē noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Equus, type genus + -idae
: a family of perissodactyl ungulate mammals consisting of the horses, asses, and zebras and various extinct related animals, all recent members being distinguished from the other existing perissodactyls by their comparatively slender and agile build, hypsodont grinding teeth with the grooves between the ridges filled with cement, reduced ulna and fibula fused with the radius and tibia respectively to form in turn a rigid slender forearm and shank, and especially by the reduction of each foot to a single enlarged functional middle digit upon the tip of which they walk, the other digits being entirely wanting except for rudimentary splint bones of the metapodials of the second and fourth — see equus