elephantine Hear it!

elephantine Definition

el·ephan·tine (el′ə fan′tēn′, el′ə fən tēn′; --tīn′)

adjective

  1. of an elephant or elephants
  2. like an elephant in size or gait; huge, heavy, slow, clumsy, ungainly, etc.

Etymology: L elephantinus < Gr elephantinos

Elephantine Definition

El·ephan·tine (el′ə fan tī′nē, -tē′-)

small island in the Nile, opposite Aswan: site of ancient ruins

elephantine Synonyms

elephantine

modif.

  1. Immense

    huge, monstrous, enormous; see large 1.

  2. Clumsy

    ungraceful, ungainly, ponderous; see awkward 1.

elephantine Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • self-aggrandisement: Well, in short, it's their propensity for elephantine self-aggrandisement.
  • sapphire: Think the moon is a blue moon, a single elephantine sapphire.
  • brass: Both have the requisite elephantine brass, but matched up with urgent drums they really do the biz!
  • size: The name comes partly from the elephantine size but also from the trunk like proboscis possessed by the bulls.
  • back: Ganesha, Ganesha, Ganesha...me on his elephantine back, traipsing through the sun-lit Universe...beckoning the errant hitchhiking bikers to climb aboard.
  • way: Getting the suit was a doddle, although the trousers sagged in an alarmingly elephantine way.

Modifying Another Word

so: A piano sound so elephantine it all but trampled over and squashed flat the entire ensemble, even when merely comping.