elephant

[ el-uh-fuh nt ]

/ ˈɛl ə fənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR elephant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural el·e·phants, (especially collectively) el·e·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.

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

white elephant.

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

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Words related to elephant

boar, pachyderm, mammoth, tusker, mastodon

Words nearby elephant

elenctic, elenore, eleoma, eleoptene, elepaio, elephant, elephant bird, elephant butte, elephant ear, elephant fish, elephant folio

Origin of elephant

1250–1300; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin elephantus < Greek elephant- (stem of eléphās) elephant; replacing Middle English olifaunt < Anglo-French < Vulgar Latin *olifantus, for Latin elephantus (with regular Latin o from e before dark l)

OTHER WORDS FROM elephant

el·e·phan·toid, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for elephant

Marcel the elephant takes readers on a journey through his life, recounting his memories full of travel and adventure.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Blue Ivy in Your Life|Allison McNearney|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The gentle, erudite soul within a body the public considered an oddity is the contrast at the heart of “The Elephant Man.”
The True Story of ‘The Elephant Man’|Russell Saunders|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Which brings us to the elephant in the room—the rapacious advance of online bookselling, personified by Amazon.
Amazon Won’t Kill the Indie Bookstore|Bill Morris|July 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So I felt, great, I went to James Bond and he said no, so I can now go to the doctor from The Elephant Man.
Jonathan Demme on Gaza, Transphobia in ‘The Silence of the Lambs,’ and Meryl Streep as a Rock Star|Marlow Stern|July 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The blood ivory trade caters to a small but hungry segment in China, yet grassroots efforts for elephant conservation do exist.
China’s Blood Ivory Bazaar|Brendon Hong|June 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That elephant an me has been side-partners for fourteen years, an here you come between us.
Short Sixes|H. C. Bunner
No change, except that the order of the animals is Elephant, Camel, Ox.
The Talking Thrush|William Crooke
Why is it that any elephant, anywhere along the line, cannot start drinking, just as he or she pleases?
The Wonders of the Jungle|Prince Sarath Ghosh
This happened and that happened and if the news arrived at Key West as a mouse, it was often enough cabled north as an elephant.
Wounds in the rain|Stephen Crane
It is as large as an elephant, and its horns of enormous size; and even cave-tigers could not always master such cattle as they.
A Manual of the Antiquity of Man|J. P. MacLean

British Dictionary definitions for elephant

elephant

/ (ˈɛlɪfənt) /

noun plural -phants or -phant

either of the two proboscidean mammals of the family Elephantidae . The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the larger species, with large flapping ears and a less humped back than the Indian elephant (Elephas maximus), of S and SE Asia

mainly British a size of writing paper, 23 by 28 inches

elephant in the room an obvious truth deliberately ignored by all parties in a situation

Derived forms of elephant

elephantoid, adjective

Word Origin for elephant

C13: from Latin elephantus, from Greek elephas elephant, ivory, of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Culture definitions for elephant

elephant

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

Idioms and Phrases with elephant

elephant

see see the elephant; white elephant.