plural rhinoceroses also rhinoceros or rhinocerirī-ˈnä-sə-ˌrī
rə-
: any of a family (Rhinocerotidae) of large heavyset herbivorous perissodactyl mammals of Africa and Asia that have one or two upright keratinous horns on the snout and thick gray to brown skin with little hair
Illustration of rhinoceros
Examples of rhinoceros in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebStreep also teamed with New Jersey lawmakers to rally behind elephants, advocating for legislation to ban the sale, purchase or possession of ivory and rhinoceros horn.—Diego Ramos Bechara, Variety, 19 July 2024 The trailer teases several large-scale battle sequences and bloody fights, including one where Lucius faces off against an opponent riding in on a rhinoceros.—Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 9 July 2024 Just within the bloody confines of the Coliseum, there’s a makeshift naval battle, a charging rhinoceros, and some wildly intense hand-to-hand combat.—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2024 This means Tapirs are more closely related to horses and rhinoceroses than to other large mammals.—Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 4 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for rhinoceros
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Word History
Etymology
Middle English rinoceros, from Anglo-French, from Latin rhinocerot-, rhinoceros, from Greek rhinokerōt-, rhinokerōs, from rhin- + keras horn — more at horn
: any of various large plant-eating mammals of Africa and Asia that are related to the horse and have a thick skin with little hair, three toes on each foot, and one or two heavy upright horns on the snout
Etymology
Middle English rinoceros "rhinoceros," from Latin rhinocerot-, rhinoceros (same meaning), from Greek rhinokerōt-, rhinokerōs, literally "nose-horned," from rhin-, rhis "nose" and keras "horn"
Word Origin
One of the largest animals found on land today is the thick-skinned rhinoceros. Another of the animal's characteristics, besides large size, is found on its snout. All rhinoceroses have at least one horn, and some have two horns. The English name for this animal with a horn or horns on its snout was borrowed from Latin rhinoceros. The Latin name, in turn, came from the Greek word rhinokerōs, which literally means "nose-horned." This word is made up of the Greek word rhin-, rhis, meaning "nose" and the word keras, meaning "horn."
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