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elephant Definition

el·ephant (el′ə fənt)

noun pl. -·phants or -·phant

any of an order (Proboscidea) of huge, thick-skinned, almost hairless mammals, the largest of extant four-footed animals, with a long, flexible snout (called a trunk) and, usually, two ivory tusks growing out of the upper jaw: the two existing species are the Asiatic (or Indian) elephant (Elephas maximus), which is commonly domesticated and is an endangered species, and the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), which has a flatter head and larger ears

Etymology: ME elefaunt < L elephantus < Gr elephas (gen. elephantos), elephant, ivory < ? Berber elu, elephant + Egypt Ȝbw, elephant, ivory

elephant Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • orphan: Others work with a grassroots network to develop Eco-tourism projects, or wash and feed abandoned, maltreated and orphaned elephants.
  • hunt: He is an obstinate, contrary director who'd rather hunt elephants than takes care of his crew or movie.

Adjective modifier

  • captive: This was in response to the untimely death of Pole Pole, a young captive elephant.
  • Asian: Asian Elephants live in groups of about 20 adult females with their young.
  • African: Do you really want the mating call of an African elephant blaring out at you at two o'clock in the morning without warning?
  • pink: Talk of pink elephants calls to mind Dorothy B. Hughes, whom I discovered recently.
  • wild: A herd of wild elephant can do a great deal of damage to a farmer's crops.
  • year-old: Wanted: Treadmill for an Elephant Maggie, the 22 year-old African elephant, has been a resident of the Alaska Zoo since 1983.

Modifies a noun

  • tusk: Showing a man in patterned robes seated under an umbrella with two elephant tusks at his feet.
  • dung: Fact: Did you know that a single elephant dung pat can attract 4,000 dung beetles in 30 minutes?
  • orphanage: We're going to try and organize a trip to take them to the elephant orphanage in Kandy after easter.
  • ivory: Born Free were shocked to learn of a huge illegal shipment of elephant ivory that has been seized in Hong Kong.
  • seal: The pups of the elephant seals weigh 50 kg at birth in October.
  • safari: We stop for a short elephant safari into the surrounding jungle, before lunch in a local restaurant.

Noun used with modifier

  • bull: He stepped onto the stage and light a joint which would have wasted a bull elephant.
  • circus: They were used to carry virtually anything, from milk in churns to circus elephants.
  • zoo: Male zoo elephants are often kept in solitary confinement due to the greater difficulty in handling them.

Possessives

trunk: The curtains were much more effective in practice than the old elephant's trunk.

Preposition: in

  • captivity: NEW REPORT SUGGESTS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH Once more the plight of elephants in captivity has hit the headlines.
  • zoo: Surely now it is now time to review the whole issue of keeping elephants in zoos.