elephant

[el-uh-fuh nt]

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).

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)

Related formsel·e·phan·toid, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for elephants

Contemporary Examples

She worked with wildlife as a volunteer in Peru and the Galapagos; she worked with elephants in Thailand, at a zoo in Australia.
Let’s Free Stacey Addison, The Oregon Woman Jailed at the Ends of the Earth
Christopher Dickey
October 30, 2014
And elephants do occasionally use their trunks as snorkels while swimming.
Why Aristotle Deserves A Posthumous Nobel
Nick Romeo
October 18, 2014
Africans are the park rangers protecting the elephants and other wildlife from violent criminal poaching networks.
Why the US-Africa Summit Was Important and Why It Wasn't Enough
John Prendergast
August 9, 2014
“We can only save African elephants if China and Japan ban the ivory trade,” Thornton told me.
A World Without Elephants? Blame China
Michael Tomasky
August 6, 2014
Beijing claims to oppose the illicit traffic in the tusks of elephants butchered by poachers.
China’s Blood Ivory Bazaar
Brendon Hong
June 30, 2014

Historical Examples

The white posts of which the fence was made were elephants' tusks!
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
The elephants were examining the bundles that had been thrown down.
The Cat of Bubastes
G. A. Henty
The crowd of people were chiefly occupied in looking at the elephants.
Rollo in Paris
Jacob Abbott
And the animals that I like to see most, I believe, are the elephants and the camels.
Where Half The World Is Waking Up
Clarence Poe
The elephants of Rangoon are as fascinating as the camels of Peking.
Where Half The World Is Waking Up
Clarence Poe

British Dictionary definitions for elephants

elephants

adjective

Australian slang drunk; intoxicated

Word Origin

C20: shortened from elephant's trunk, rhyming slang for drunk

elephant

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 Formselephantoid, adjective

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for elephants

elephant

n.

c.1300, olyfaunt, from Old French oliphant (12c.), from Latin elephantus, from Greek elephas (genitive elephantos) "elephant, ivory," probably from a non-Indo-European language, likely via Phoenician (cf. Hamitic elu "elephant," source of the word for it in many Semitic languages, or possibly from Sanskrit ibhah "elephant").

Re-spelled after 1550 on Latin model. As an emblem of the Republican Party in U.S. politics, 1860. To see the elephant "be acquainted with life, gain knowledge by experience" is an American English colloquialism from 1835.

elephants in Culture

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 elephants

elephant

see see the elephant; white elephant.

elephant

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}elephant

Examples from the Web for elephants

Contemporary Examples

She worked with wildlife as a volunteer in Peru and the Galapagos; she worked with elephants in Thailand, at a zoo in Australia.

And elephants do occasionally use their trunks as snorkels while swimming.

Africans are the park rangers protecting the elephants and other wildlife from violent criminal poaching networks.

“We can only save African elephants if China and Japan ban the ivory trade,” Thornton told me.

Beijing claims to oppose the illicit traffic in the tusks of elephants butchered by poachers.

Historical Examples

The white posts of which the fence was made were elephants' tusks!

The elephants were examining the bundles that had been thrown down.

The crowd of people were chiefly occupied in looking at the elephants.

And the animals that I like to see most, I believe, are the elephants and the camels.

The elephants of Rangoon are as fascinating as the camels of Peking.

elephants

Word Origin

elephant

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for elephants

elephant

n.

elephant

Idioms and Phrases with elephants

elephant

Origin of elephant