pachyderm
noun
Did you know?
Pachydermos in Greek means literally "having thick skin" (figuratively, it means "dull" or "stupid"). It's from pachys, meaning "thick," and derma, meaning "skin." In the late 1700s, the French naturalist Georges Cuvier adapted the Greek term as pachyderme for any one of a whole assemblage of hoofed animals having thickish skin: elephants, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, tapirs, horses, pigs, and more. English speakers learned the word from French in the early 1800s. The adjective pachydermatous means "of or relating to the pachyderms" or "thickened" (referring to skin). Not too surprisingly, it also means "callous" or "insensitive" (somewhat unfairly especially to elephants, which are actually known to be rather sensitive).
Examples of pachyderm in a Sentence
Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 14 Jan. 2025
But an elderly pachyderm named Mary has perfected the technique by using a hose as a showerhead, much in the way humans do.
—Bysara Reardon, science.org, 8 Nov. 2024
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Drink a Spicy Elephant, complete with a tiny plastic pachyderm on your glass, at The Pink.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 16 Dec. 2024
The resort itself, a modern build of canvas, stone, and walls of concrete mixed with elephant dung (an ode to the pachyderms and a textural accent) has an intimate atmosphere and just 10 suites.
—Tanveer Badal, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Pachyderm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pachyderm. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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pachyderm
noun
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