hippo

noun, plural hip·pos. Informal.

noun

a combining form appearing in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “horse” (hippodrome); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (hippology).

noun plural -pos informal

short for hippopotamus, attested from 1872.

before vowels, hipp-, word-forming element meaning “horse,” from Greek hippo-, from hippos “horse,” from PIE *ekwo- (see equine).