- "Eo-": This prefix means "dawn" or "early." It is often used to refer to something that is the earliest known or primitive form of something else.
- "Hippus": This word is derived from the Greek "hippos," which means "horse."
Therefore, "Eohippus" translates to "dawn horse" or "early horse." It refers to the genus of primitive horse-like animals that lived in North America during the Eocene epoch, approximately 56-34 million years ago. Eohippus is considered one of the earliest known horse ancestors and is an important species in the study of horse evolution.