hip·po·pot·a·mus
 hippopotamus
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- pronunciation:
- hI
p
pa
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ms
- features:
- Word History, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| inflections: |
hippopotami, hippopotamuses |
| definition: |
A hippopotamus is a very large mammal that has short legs and thick skin with almost no hair. Large areas of its body are quite round in shape. Hippopotamuses live in or near rivers and lakes in the warm parts of Africa. We often call a hippopotamus a "hippo" for short.
Although hippopotamuses are very large animals, they only eat plants.
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Hippopotamus comes from the ancient Greek word for this animal, which means "horse of the river."