artiodactyl

English

artiodactyls

Cloven hooves on forefeet of roe deer

Etymology

From scientific Latin Artiodactyla (suborder name), from Ancient Greek ἄρτιος (ártios, “even”) + δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger, toe”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɑːtɪəʊˈdaktɪl/

Noun

artiodactyl (plural artiodactyls)

1. (zoology) Any ungulate mammal with an even number of toes and belonging to the Artiodactyla, including pigs, sheep, deer, cattle, and most grazing animals. In contrast, horses have an odd number of toes and as such are not Artiodactyla, but Perissodactyla. [from 19th c.]
   • 2013, Simon Winder, Danubia, Picador, published 2014, page 397:

     I have been unable to find out if these are linked in some way to the 1945 Budapest hippos, with the possibility this would create of a parallel history of Central Europe seen through the endurance of one brave African artiodactyl family.

Related terms

• artiodactylous

Translations

any ungulate mammal with an even number of toes

• Bulgarian: Чифтокопитен n (Čiftokopiten)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 偶蹄目 (zh) (ǒutímù)

• Finnish: sorkkaeläin
• French: artiodactyle (fr) m
• Galician: artiodáctilo (gl)
• German: Paarhufer (de) m, Paarzeher m, paarzehiges Huftier n
• Icelandic: klaufdýr n
• Italian: artiodattilo (it) m
• Japanese: 偶蹄目 (ja) (ぐうていもく, gūteimoku), ウシ目 (ja) (ushi-moku)
• Malay: artiodaktil
• Polish: parzystokopytne (pl) n
• Portuguese: artiodáctilo m
• Romanian: artiodactil (ro) n
• Russian: парнокопы́тное (ru) n (parnokopýtnoje)

See also

• perissodactyl