: any of a family (Rhinocerotidae) of large heavyset herbivorous perissodactyl mammals of Africa and Asia that have one or two upright keratinous horns on the snout and thick gray to brown skin with little hair
See rhinoceros defined for English-language learners
: a large plant-eating mammal of Africa and Asia with short legs, thick gray to brown skin with little hair, and one or two heavy upright horns on the snout
Word History of RHINOCEROS
The ancient Greeks were familiar with the African species of rhinoceros and called the animal in Greek monokerōs, “one-horned,” and more commonly rhinokerōs, “nose-horned.”“Nose-horned” is a more or less accurate description, because the horn does grow out of the nose, but “one-horned” is not, because both of the African species have two horns.