platypus

Where does the word "platypus" come from? It comes from Greek platys, passing through New Latin before entering English (1800s).

Platypus’s story begins in Greek: platys meant “flat.” Flat, combined with pous (foot) to name the flat-footed animal. By 1799, the word had taken hold in New Latin as platypus. Coined from Greek platys (flat) and pous (foot) for the newly described egg-laying mammal. It reached English by 1800s as platypus. George Shaw named it in 1799; British scientists at first thought the specimen was a hoax. Today, platypus means a duck-billed, egg-laying mammal native to Australia.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient platys "flat", flat, combined with pous (foot) to name the flat-footed animal.
2. Stage 2 · New Latin · 1799 platypus "flat-foot", coined from Greek platys (flat) and pous (foot) for the newly described egg-laying mammal.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1800s platypus "a duck-billed, egg-laying mammal", George Shaw named it in 1799; British scientists at first thought the specimen was a hoax.