pachydermn.adj.
/ˈpakɪdəːm/, U.S. /ˈpækəˌdərm/ A. n.
1. Originally (Zoology): any mammal of the former order Pachydermata (see Pachydermata n.). In later (non-technical) use: any of a group of these, being typically large, thick-skinned, sparsely haired herbivores such as elephants, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > [noun] > Pachydermata > pachyderm or condition of being
pachyderm1828
pachydermatousness1854
the world > animals > mammals > [noun] > parts of > (parts) of foot > quadruped > unspecified types of
dante1600
pachyderm1828
1828 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. 414 The instinct of attack which characterizes the walrus..is characteristic also of the land animals, the pachyderms, with which he is classed.
1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 415/2 That the quadruped under consideration [sc. Hyrax] is a true Pachyderm.
1880 S. Haughton Six Lect. Physical Geogr. ii. 53 England was inhabited by herbivorous pachyderms..previous to the elevation of the east and west chain.
1931 Geogr. Jrnl. 77 402 I doubt if any of the three great pachyderms, the elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, will, if present conditions continue, survive beyond the next fifty years.
1947 J. Stevenson-Hamilton Wild Life S. Afr. iv. 38 A car or lorry is no protection against a cross or frightened pachyderm.
1992 F. McLynn Hearts of Darkness ii. viii. 184 The distinctive ears of the pachyderm on the coin showed clearly that it was an African elephant and not its more biddable Indian cousin.
2. figurative. A thick-skinned or insensitive person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [noun] > quality of being thick-skinned or shameless > person
pachyderm1863
1863 Littell's Living Age 27 June 586/1 The human pachyderm is, in some respects, a fortunate animal... The distinction between thick skins and thin ones lies in the temperament.
1867 J. Garfield in Cent. Mag. (1884) Jan. 417/2 Like all politicians he seems to have become a pachyderm.
1899 Catholic World Jan. 497 That venerable pachyderm, Rev. Dr. Hyde of Honolulu, whose hide was invulnerable even to the keen shafts of Robert Louis Stevenson's ‘Open Letter’.
1979 A. Hailey Overload (new ed.) i. iii. 19 This pachyderm we work for can survive a few slings and arrows.
B. adj.
= pachydermatous adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > [adjective] > of or belonging to Pachydermata
pachydermatous1823
pachydermous1836
pachydermic1838
pachydermal1842
pachyderm1851
pachydermoid1856
pachydermatoid1882
1851 J. Anderson Course of Creation 233 The Mastodon..was another of the extinct pachyderm class then inhabiting the island.
1868 Nat. Encycl. I. 821 Anthracotherium, a fossil genus of pachyderm mammals.
1921 E. Pound Let. 24 Dec. in T. S. Eliot Lett. (1988) I. 499 The upjut of his sperm Has rendered his senses pachyderm.
1989 P. Reading Perduta Gente in Coll. Poems (1996) ii. 171 Tremulous wart-knuckled pachyderm fingers Fumble a tin cup.
1994 Gazette (Montreal) 5 Nov. a4/1 Ever since Michel Bédard of the White Elephant Party was booked a couple of weeks ago for defacing MCM campaign posters, things have been quiet on the pachyderm front.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1828