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Elephant   /ˈɛləfənt/   Listen
noun
Elephant  n.  
1.
(Zoöl.) A mammal of the order Proboscidia and family Elephantidae, of which two living species, Elephas maximus (formerly Elephas Indicus) and Loxodonta Africana (formerly E. Africanus), and several fossil species, are known. They have five toes, a long proboscis or trunk, and two large ivory tusks proceeding from the extremity of the upper jaw, and curving upwards. The molar teeth are large and have transverse folds. Elephants are the largest land animals now existing. The elephant is classed as a pachyderm.
2.
Ivory; the tusk of the elephant. (Obs.)
Elephant apple (Bot.), an East Indian fruit with a rough, hard rind, and edible pulp, borne by Feronia elephantum, a large tree related to the orange.
Elephant bed (Geol.), at Brighton, England, abounding in fossil remains of elephants.
Elephant beetle (Zoöl.), any very large beetle of the genus Goliathus (esp. G. giganteus), of the family Scarabaeidae. They inhabit West Africa.
Elephant fish (Zoöl.), a chimaeroid fish (Callorhynchus antarcticus), with a proboscis-like projection of the snout.
Elephant paper, paper of large size, 23 times 28 inches.
Double elephant paper, paper measuring 26¾ times 40 inches. See Note under Paper.
Elephant seal (Zoöl.), an African jumping shrew (Macroscelides typicus), having a long nose like a proboscis.
Elephant's ear (Bot.), a name given to certain species of the genus Begonia, which have immense one-sided leaves.
Elephant's foot (Bot.)
(a)
A South African plant (Testudinaria Elephantipes), which has a massive rootstock covered with a kind of bark cracked with deep fissures; called also tortoise plant. The interior part is barely edible, whence the plant is also called Hottentot's bread.
(b)
A genus (Elephantopus) of coarse, composite weeds.
Elephant's tusk (Zoöl.), the tooth shell. See Dentalium.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Elephant" Quotes from Famous Books



... geologist differed. "We want to remember that the earth has no standard type. Think what a difference there is between the mosquito and the elephant, the snake and the spider! One would suppose that they had been developed under totally different planetary conditions, instead of all right on ...
— The Lord of Death and the Queen of Life • Homer Eon Flint

... white-spotted blue necktie, I have instinctively thought of Bower, who wore such a waistcoat and such a necktie, with the glossiest of silk hats and most shapely of patent-leather boots, throughout the siege of Paris, when he was fond of dilating on the merits of boiled ostrich and stewed elephant's foot, of which expensive dainties he partook at his club, after the inmates of the Jardin des ...
— My Days of Adventure - The Fall of France, 1870-71 • Ernest Alfred Vizetelly

... and recurrent drought in the hinterlands have resulted in increased migration of the population to urban and coastal areas with adverse environmental consequences; desertification; pollution of surface and coastal waters; elephant poaching for ivory ...
— The 2004 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency

... mammals found are as follows: Elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, sable and roan antelope, kudu, water buck, blue wilde-beest, impalla, reed buck, bush-buck, steenbok, duiker, klipspringer, mountain reed buck, ...
— Supplement to Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador • William Wood

... he wants that big elephant, the handsomest thing in the window; and it's a shame, and he sha'n't have it. I offered him the one you made first, that got its leg broke, and he won't look at it. There's just as much eatin' to it, ...
— The Wooing of Calvin Parks • Laura E. Richards


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