Etymo

pachyderm

An older grouping term applied to animals such as elephants and rhinoceroses.

Played on · Day 53 · word 4 of 5

A thick-skinned animal name

How pachyderm reached English

oldest first
  • pachys‘thick’
  • derma‘skin’

combined

  1. Greek

    pachydermos

    ‘Thick-skinned’

    into French

  2. French

    pachyderme

    ‘A non-ruminant hoofed quadruped’

    into English

  3. English

    pachyderm

    ‘A term for various animals in a former grouping’

The story of pachyderm

Pachyderm comes from French pachyderme and Greek pachydermos, thick-skinned. Its components are pachys, thick, and derma, skin.

Sources

Also built on Greek derma

  • pachyderm, this word
  • hypodermic

Pachydermatous can also mean callous or insensitive: thick skin becomes a description of temperament.

More words from 28 October 2026

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  3. turquoiseA blue-green gemstone, also the name of a colour.

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