chryselephantine

American  

[kris-el-uh-fan-tin, -tahyn] / ˌkrɪs ɛl əˈfæn tɪn, -taɪn /

adjective

1. made of or overlaid with gold and ivory, as certain objects made in ancient Greece.

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chryselephantine British  

/ ˌkrɪsɛlɪˈfæntɪn /

adjective

1. (of ancient Greek statues) made of or overlaid with gold and ivory

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Etymology

Origin of chryselephantine

1820–30; < Greek chrȳselephántinos, equivalent to chrȳs- chrys- + elephántinos ( elephant-, stem of eléphās elephant, ivory + -inos -ine ¹

Example Sentences

The material was what the Greeks called chryselephantine; that is, the flesh was composed of plates of ivory skillfully laid on; but the drapery and ornaments were pure gold.

From Project Gutenberg

There was the grove of Altis, in which were ranged the statues of the victorious athletes, and the temple of Olympian Zeus with the chryselephantine statue of the god, the masterpiece of Pheidias.

From Project Gutenberg

In the atrium of the fictional Megalopolitan Building at 700-853 Fleet Street there is a “chryselephantine effigy of Lord Copper,” The Beast’s proprietor, “in coronation robes, rising above the throng, on a polygonal malachite pedestal.”

From New York Times

All three wrought in chryselephantine gold and ivory; the gold with flowing pallid highlights.

From Project Gutenberg

Their hair is short and curls at the back of their heads like the hair of the chryselephantine Hermes.

From Project Gutenberg