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hippopotamus

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Definition of hippopotamus

noun (plural hippopotamuses or hippopotami /-mʌɪ/)

a large thick-skinned semiaquatic African mammal, with massive jaws and large tusks.
- Family Hippopotamidae: the very large Hippopotamus amphibius, frequenting rivers and lakes, and the smaller pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis), frequenting forests near fresh water in West Africa

Origin:

Middle English: via Latin from Greek hippopotamos, earlier hippos ho potamios 'river horse' (from hippos 'horse', potamos 'river')

Spelling help

Spell hippopotamus with a double p before the first o and a single p after it. The plural can be spelled either hippopotami (as in the original Latin) or hippopotamuses.

hippopotamus in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of hippopotamus in the US English dictionary

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