Meanings
plural eohippi · plural eohippuses
- An extinct early Eocene mammal (Hyracotherium leporinum), ancestral to the modern horse.
An eohippus may "evolve" into a horse, but when we say that a society of hunters and gatherers evolves into a farming village, we are using the word "evolves" as a metaphor for a process of directional change.
1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 61
Synonyms & antonyms
nounearliest horse; extinct primitive dog-sized four-toed Eocene animal
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἠώς“dawn”
- Englisheohippus
Originally a genus name, Eohippus, formed in New Latin, from Ancient Greek ἠώς (ēṓs, “dawn”) + ἵππος (híppos, “horse”). By surface analysis, eo- + Latin hippus.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
eohippus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eohippus
“eohippus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eohippus. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eohippus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eohippus.
Source: eohippus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.