Hippotamus

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Obsolete spelling and common present-day misspelling of hippopotamus

    "It is a remarkable fact that when the hippotamus is at liberty in its native stream, not only the ears and the nostrils, but even the ridge over the eyes are of a bright scarlet colour, so brilliant indeed that colour can scarcely convey an idea of the hue."

Example

More examples

"It is a remarkable fact that when the hippotamus is at liberty in its native stream, not only the ears and the nostrils, but even the ridge over the eyes are of a bright scarlet colour, so brilliant indeed that colour can scarcely convey an idea of the hue."

Etymology

Syncopic form of hippopotamus.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.