The story
- Proto-Indo-European*HéHḱus
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁éḱwos
- Proto-Hellenic*íkkʷos
- Ancient Greekῐ̔́ππος (hĭ́ppos)
- Proto-Indo-European*peth₂-der.?
- Ancient Greekποτᾰμός (potămós)
- Ancient Greekἱπποπόταμος (hippopótamos)
- Latinhippopotamus
- English todayhippopotamus
From Latin and New Latin hippopotamus, from Ancient Greek ἱπποπόταμος (hippopótamos), from ἵππος (híppos, “horse”) (English hippo-) + ποταμός (potamós, “river”). First attested in the 1560s. Displaced English nicker (from native Old English nicor) and river horse.
Words from the same roots
Ancient Greekἱπποπόταμος all →
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.