Artiodactyl

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of mammals that have an even number of toes and typically include various herbivorous species such as antelopes and camels
2. These hoofed animals are defined by their even-toed structure and include both common livestock and wild species like zebras and bison
3. A mammal belonging to a group characterized by an even number of toes on each foot and predominantly herbivorous habits

Etymology: The most striking thing about this word is how little of it is English at all: it is a modern scientific coinage assembled from two ancient Greek words. "Ártios" meant "even," as in an even number, and "dáktulos" meant "finger" or "toe." Put together, they describe an animal whose feet are split so that each one bears weight on an even number of digits. The name was created as a taxonomic label for an order of hoofed mammals, Artiodactyla, and the English noun "artiodactyl" is a learned borrowing of that scientific Latin name. Its members include cattle, deer, pigs, hippos, giraffes, antelopes and camels. The group is defined by that foot structure, so the name simply records a physical feature that zoologists chose to organise the animals around. Because it was built for classification rather than passed down through everyday speech, the word is a technical term from start to finish, and its meaning has never drifted from the anatomical description it was coined to express.

Synonyms: even-toed ungulate