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pachyderm
pachyderm definition
pachy·derm (pak′ə dʉrm′)
noun
- any of certain large, thick-skinned, hoofed animals, as the elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, formerly classified together
- a thick-skinned, insensitive, stolid person
Etymology: Fr pachyderme < Gr pachydermos, thick-skinned < pachys, thick (< IE base *bhenĝh-, thick, dense > Sans bahú-, dense, much) + derma, skin: see derma
Related Forms:
- pachydermal pach′y·der′·mal adjective or pachydermic pach′y·der′·mic
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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