PACHYDERMATOUS

[Dr. Goodword]

• pachydermatous •

Pronunciation: pæ-kê-dêr-mê-tês • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: 1. Of, like or related to elephants. 2. Thick skinned, insensitive.

Notes: Well, we all have known what a pachyderm is since childhood; it should come as no surprise that this word has an adjective. That suffix -at before the -ous is redundant, so you may omit it if you wish: pachydermous is just as good as today's word—and shorter, if you're in a hurry. The state of having (abnormally) thick skin? Pachydermia.

In Play: Sometimes thick skin is a good defense mechanism: "I don't think your referring to him as a burnt-out has-been will offend that pachydermatous old goat!" However, it can also be an indicator of insensitivity: "Donny Brooke is too pachydermatous to enjoy the subtleties of poetry; he wouldn't enjoy the reading."

Word History: Today's Good Word comes to us, via Latin and French, from Greek pakhydermos "thick-skinned", a compound made up of pakhys "thick" + derma "skin". Pachys does not show up in many Greek borrowings in English; pachysandra was named for its thick stamens while pachycephalosaurs were named for their thick skulls. Derma, however, appears in many borrowings, including dermal "pertaining to skin", epidermis "outer layer of skin", and the study of skin, dermatology. (Today we are grateful to Andrew Shaffer, who magically sends out our Good Words to you daily and whose voice you hear pronouncing this word, for giving us the skinny on this funny word.)

[Slava]

While many may complain that Government at times moves with pachydermatous ponderousness through our lives, it is also true that a good politician must be pachydermatous, so they may suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous, and often lying, accusations.