pachy-

in zoology, "thick-headed," by 1862, from pachy- "thick, large" + -cephalic. Related: Pachycephalous (1890).

1838, from French pachyderme (c. 1600), adopted as a biological term for non-ruminant hoofed quadrupeds 1797 by French naturalist Georges Léopole Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert, Baron Cuvier (1769-1832), from Greek pakhydermos "thick-skinned," from pakhys "thick, large, massive" (see pachy-) + derma "skin" (from PIE root *der- "to split, flay, peel," with derivatives referring to skin and leather). Cuvier's order of Pachydermata is now disused in zoology, but pachyderm remains in common use to describe elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, etc. Related: Pachydermal; pachydermic; pachydermatous.

genus of small, evergreen plants, 1813, from Modern Latin (Andre Michaux,1803), from Greek pakhys "thick" (see pachy-) + anēr (genitive andros) "man" (from PIE root *ner- (2) "man"), which is used in botany to mean "stamen, having stamens" (the plant is notable for its four stamens).