hippo

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See also: Hippo, hippo-, and HiPPO

English

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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hippo (plural hippos)

  1. Clipping of hippopotamus.
    • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, [], →OCLC, part I, page 218:
      There was an old hippo that had the bad habit of getting out on the bank and roaming at night over the station grounds.
    • 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt [], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
      "I've seen them buryin' a chief up the Aruwimi River, and they ate a hippo that must have weighed as much as a tribe."
    • 2006 June 24, The Weekend Argus:
      The Eastern Cape village whose dam has been taken over by a hippo will decide next week what happens to the animal.
  2. (historical, slang, South Africa) An armored personnel carrier used by the South African Defence Force.
    Coordinate term: mellow yellow
  3. (informal, derogatory) An overweight or obese person.
    Synonyms: fatass, fatso, fatty, whale
  4. (informal, Chess) Hippopotamus Defence.

Derived terms

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