French Conversation · Level 29
89 words
French word
pachyderme
Pronunciation
IPA/paʃidɛʁm/
Meaning
- masculine nounpachyderm
Example
Un pachyderme traverse la savane.
A pachyderm crosses the savanna.
More examples
Les enfants dessinent souvent un pachyderme avec une trompe et de grandes oreilles.
Children often draw a pachyderm with a trunk and large ears.
Core concept
A large mammal grouped by its conspicuously thick skin, such as an elephant, hippopotamus, or rhinoceros.
Similar words
éléphant: A very large herbivorous mammal with a long trunk.
hippopotame: A massive mammal that lives near freshwater.
rhinocéros: A large, heavy herbivore with a prominent horn on its snout.
Definition in French
Terme collectif, parfois vieilli, pour désigner des mammifères à peau épaisse tels que l'éléphant, l'hippopotame et le rhinocéros.
Word origin
French pachyderme is a learned formation from Greek pachys, meaning thick, and derma, meaning skin.
Usage tips
- Pachyderme is masculine, as in un pachyderme, and sounds more zoological or literary than the individual animal names used in everyday speech.
Other meanings
- elephantnoun
- hippopotamusnoun
- rhinocerosnoun