elephantine
pronunciation
How to pronounce elephantine in British English:
UK [ˌelɪˈfæntaɪn]
How to pronounce elephantine in American English:
US [ˌelɪˈfæntin]
-
- Adjective:
- of great mass; huge and bulky
Word Origin
- elephantine (adj.)
- 1620s, "huge," from Latin elephantinus "pertaining to the elephant," from elephantus (see elephant). Meaning "pertaining to elephants" is from 1670s. Earlier adjective was elephantic (1590s).
Example
- 1. Their daughter is quite plump but their son is positively elephantine .
- 2. His mind is sharp , his memory elephantine , and he bristles with energy and vigour .
- 3. A margin which , linear as it may be , reveals its vertigo , even if it is not trampled by the elephantine feet of the other 's whim .
- 4. Lastly , the commission should bolster its line on lloyds group , the elephantine product of a state-sponsored merger during the crisis .
- 5. India 's current rulers , the mahouts to an elephantine state , seem at least to understand this .