elephant definition | Dictionary.com

el⋅e⋅phant

[el-uh-fuh

nt]

Use elephant in a Sentence

–noun, plural -phants, (especially collectively

) -phant for 1.

either of two large, five-toed pachyderms of the family Elephantidae, characterized by a long, prehensile trunk formed of the nose and upper lip, including Loxodonta africana (African elephant), with enormous flapping ears, two fingerlike projections at the end of the trunk, and ivory tusks, and Elephas maximus (Indian elephant), with smaller ears, one projection at the end of the trunk, and ivory tusks almost exclusively in males: L. africana is threatened; E. maximus is endangered.

2.	a representation of this animal, used in the U.S. since 1874 as the emblem of the Republican party.

3.	white elephant.

4.	Chiefly British. a size of drawing or writing paper, 23 × 28 in. (58 × 71 cm).

Compare double elephant.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME (< AF) < L elephantus < Gk elephant- (s. of eléphās) elephant; r. ME olifaunt < AF < VL *olifantus, for L elephantus (with regular L o from e before dark l)

Related forms:

el⋅e⋅phan⋅toid, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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el·e·phant (ěl'ə-fənt)

Either of two very large herbivorous mammals, Elephas maximus of south-central Asia or Loxodonta africana of Africa, having thick, almost hairless skin, a long, flexible, prehensile trunk, upper incisors forming long curved tusks of ivory, and, in the African species, large fan-shaped ears.
Any of various extinct or living animals related to either of these two animals.

[Middle English elefaunt, from Old French olifant, from Vulgar Latin *olifantus, from Latin elephantus, from Greek elephās, elephant-.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Elephant

El"e*phant\, n. [OE. elefaunt, olifant, OF. olifant, F. ['e]l['e]phant, L. elephantus, elephas, -antis, fr. Gr. ?, ?; of unknown origin; perh. fr. Skr. ibha, with the Semitic article al, el, prefixed, or fr. Semitic Aleph hindi Indian bull; or cf. Goth. ulbandus camel, AS. olfend.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) A mammal of the order Proboscidia, of which two living species, Elephas Indicus and E. Africanus, and several fossil species, are known. They have a proboscis or trunk, and two large ivory tusks proceeding from the extremity of the upper jaw, and curving upwards. The molar teeth are large and have transverse folds. Elephants are the largest land animals now existing.

2. Ivory; the tusk of the elephant. [Obs.] --Dryden.

Elephant apple (Bot.), an East Indian fruit with a rough, hard rind, and edible pulp, borne by Feronia elephantum, a large tree related to the orange.

Elephant bed (Geol.), at Brighton, England, abounding in fossil remains of elephants. --Mantell.

Elephant beetle (Zo["o]l.), any very large beetle of the genus Goliathus (esp. G. giganteus), of the family Scarab[ae]id[ae]. They inhabit West Africa.

Elephant fish (Zo["o]l.), a chim[ae]roid fish (Callorhynchus antarcticus), with a proboscis-like projection of the snout.

Elephant paper, paper of large size, 23 [times] 28 inches.

Double elephant paper, paper measuring 263/4 [times] 40 inches. See Note under Paper.

Elephant seal (Zo["o]l.), an African jumping shrew (Macroscelides typicus), having a long nose like a proboscis.

Elephant's ear (Bot.), a name given to certain species of the genus Begonia, which have immense one-sided leaves.

Elephant's foot (Bot.) (a) A South African plant (Testudinaria Elephantipes), which has a massive rootstock covered with a kind of bark cracked with deep fissures; -- called also tortoise plant. The interior part is barely edible, whence the plant is also called Hottentot's bread. (b) A genus (Elephantopus) of coarse, composite weeds.

Elephant's tusk (Zo["o]l.), the tooth shell. See Dentalium.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : elephant

Spanish: elefante,

German: der Elefant,

Japanese: 象

More Translations »

elephant

A symbol of the Republican party, introduced in a series of political cartoons by Thomas Nast during the congressional elections of 1874. (Compare donkey.)

elephant

c.1300, olyfaunt, from O.Fr. oliphant, from L. elephantus, from Gk. elephas (gen. elephantos) "elephant, ivory," probably from a non-I.E. language, likely via Phoenician (cf. Hamitic elu "elephant," source of the word for it in many Sem. languages, or possibly from Skt. ibhah "elephant"). Re-spelled after 1550 on L. model. As an emblem of the Republican Party in U.S. politics, 1860. White elephant (1851) supposedly arose from the practice of the King of Siam of presenting one of the sacred albino elephants to a courtier who had fallen from favor; the gift was a great honor, but the cost of proper upkeep of one was ruinous. To see the elephant "be acquainted with life, gain knowledge by experience" is an Amer.Eng. colloquialism from 1835.

elephant

An institutional investor that controls a substantial amount of funds and that makes investment decisions that can have a major impact on a security's market price.

elephant
Large, grey, four-legged mammal.

Elephant

not found in Scripture except indirectly in the original Greek word (elephantinos) translated "of ivory" in Rev. 18:12, and in the Hebrew word (shenhabim, meaning "elephant's tooth") rendered "ivory" in 1 Kings 10:22 and 2 Chr. 9:21.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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elephant

see see the elephant; white elephant.

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