rhinoceros English · revision 923

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹaɪˈnɒs.ə.ɹəs/, /ɹaɪˈnɑ.sə.ɹəs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|rinoceros]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[bor|la-lat|rhīnocerōs]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|ῥινόκερως|tr=rhinókerōs|t=nose-horned]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[af|grc|ῥίς|κέρας|tr1=rhís|tr2=kéras|t1=nose|t2=horn]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The large horned beast of Africa and southern Asia (c. 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline; 14th century in the OED);^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) in Middle English it was sometimes regarded as a kind of unicorn.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Douay Bible uses ''rhinoceros'' where other versions have ''unicorn''.^(RHWU) The word was applied figuratively to a large, unwieldy person (1613),^(OED 1989) and the rhinoceros beetle (by the 1680s) is named for the upcurved horn of the male.^(Etymonline) The plural has been unsettled: ''rhinoceroses'', ''rhinoceros'' and the learned ''rhinoceri'' are recorded.^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – the animal.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1613 – a large, unwieldy person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1680s – ''rhinoceros beetle''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of several large, thick-skinned, plant-eating [[mammal|alt=mammals]] of the family Rhinocerotidae of Africa and Asia, with one or two upright [[horn|alt=horns]] on the snout.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rhino]]

+ * [[rhinoplasty]]

+ * [[horn]]

+ * [[keratin]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}