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 existing species are the endangered Asian (or Indian) elephant (Elephas maximus), which is commonly domesticated, and two species of African elephant (Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis), which have a flatter head and larger ears
Origin of elephant
Middle English
elefaunt from Classical Latin
elephantus from Classical Greek
elephas (gen.
elephantos), elephant, ivory from uncertain or unknown; perhaps Berber
elu, elephant + Egyptian ?
bw, elephant, ivory