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African elephant

[ af-ri-kuhn el-uh-fuhnt ]
/ ˈæf rɪ kən ˈɛl ə fənt /
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noun
an elephant of the genus Loxodonta, with two extant species, the larger African bush elephant and the African forest elephant, both found in sub-Saharan Africa and previously considered subspecies rather than genetically distinct: Compared to an Asian elephant, an African elephant is larger and has enormous ears, a rounder head, a trunk ending in two fingers rather than one, and conspicuous tusks occurring in both sexes.

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Origin of African elephant

First recorded in 1600–20

historical usage of African elephant

See Borneo elephant.

Words nearby African elephant

African bush elephant, African-Canadian, African cherry-orange, African daisy, African dominoes, African elephant, African forest elephant, African grape, African horse sickness, Africanism, Africanist
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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