pach·y·derm

(păk′ĭ-dûrm′)

Any of various large, thick-skinned, hoofed mammals such as the elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus.

[French pachyderme, from New Latin Pachydermata, former order name, from Greek pakhudermos, thick-skinned : pakhus, thick + derma, skin; see derma¹.]

pach′y·der′mal, pach′y·der′mic, pach′y·der′mous adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pachyderm

(ˈpækɪˌdɜːm)

(Zoology) any very large thick-skinned mammal, such as an elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus

[C19: from French pachyderme, from Greek pakhudermos thick-skinned, from pakhus thick + derma skin]

ˌpachyˈdermatous, ˌpachyˈdermal adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pach•y•derm

(ˈpæk ɪˌdɜrm)

n.

any large, thick-skinned, hoofed mammal, as the elephant, hippopotamus, and rhinoceros.

[1830–40; < New Latin Pachyderma, assumed singular of Pachydermata (pl.) obsolete order name < Greek pachý(s) thick + dérma skin]

pach`y•der′mal, pach`y•der′mic, adj.

pach·y·derm

(păk′ĭ-dûrm′)

Any of various large, thick-skinned mammals, such as the elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

pachyderm - any of various nonruminant hoofed mammals having very thick skin: elephant; rhinoceros; hippopotamus

eutherian, eutherian mammal, placental, placental mammal - mammals having a placenta; all mammals except monotremes and marsupials

elephant - five-toed pachyderm

thick skin - skin that is very thick (as an elephant or rhinoceros)

Translations

Pachyderme

παχύδερμο

pachyderme

pachiderma

pachyderm

[ˈpækɪdɜːm] N → paquidermo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

pachyderm

[ˈpækidɜː^rm] n → pachyderme m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

pachyderm

n → Dickhäuter m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Tarzan laughed aloud and came closer above the head of the pachyderm.

As a matter of fact it was the pleasant, friendly voice and caressing hands behind his ears which he enjoyed, and the close proximity of him whom he had often borne upon his back since Tarzan, as a little child, had once fearlessly approached the great bull, assuming upon the part of the pachyderm the same friendliness which filled his own heart.

Now the giant pachyderm was but a few yards from the hidden death lurking in his path, and the blacks, certain of success, were screaming and dancing in his wake, waving their war spears and celebrating in advance the acquisition of the splendid ivory carried by their prey and the surfeit of elephant meat which would be theirs this night.

Above him towered the gigantic bulk of the pachyderm, the little eyes flashing with the reflected light of the fires--wicked, frightful, terrifying.

View in context

She felt him leap into the air and marveled at his strength and his ability as, burdened with her weight, he swung nimbly into the lower branches of a large tree and quickly bore her upward beyond reach of the sinuous trunk of the pachyderm.

View in context

And so it happened that before the elephant realized that his new enemy had leaped from his path Tarzan had driven his iron-shod spear from behind the massive shoulder straight into the fierce heart, and the colossal pachyderm had toppled to his death at the feet of the ape-man.

View in context

The antelope, although in plain view of the huge beast, paid not the slightest attention to it, and I was so wrapped up in watching the mighty pachyderm that I quite forgot to shoot at the buck and presently, and in quite a startling manner, it became impossible to do so.

View in context

Cuvier ranked the Ruminants and Pachyderms, as the two most distinct orders of mammals; but Owen has discovered so many fossil links, that he has had to alter the whole classification of these two orders; and has placed certain pachyderms in the same sub-order with ruminants: for example, he dissolves by fine gradations the apparently wide difference between the pig and the camel.

If, for instance, the genera a1, a5, a10, f8, m3, m6, m9 were disinterred, these three families would be so closely linked together that they probably would have to be united into one great family, in nearly the same manner as has occurred with ruminants and pachyderms. Yet he who objected to call the extinct genera, which thus linked the living genera of three families together, intermediate in character, would be justified, as they are intermediate, not directly, but only by a long and circuitous course through many widely different forms.

View in context

After the passing of the pachyderm, the Nandankanan Zoo is left with one male and six female elephants.

Jumbo Julie dies at Odisha Zoo

This one is less about feeling sorry for yourself and more about accepting how goddamn miserable you are." Young and the band membersbassist Robbie Smartwood, guitarist John Polydoros, and new drummer Kyle Manningholed up at The Hideaway in Minneapolis with additional recording at Pachyderm Studios, a midcentury mansion where Nirvana recorded In Utero, to make Be Good.

USA Punks come to region on UK tour

Even international concerns, regarding the health of the elephant in the zoo - Kaavan - have been raised with US singer Cher sending her representatives to evacuate the pachyderm to a sanctuary in Sri Lanka.

Willful ignorance?