oliphaunt
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English oliphaunt, olifaunt, from Old French olifant, from Latin elephantus; see elephant for more information.
Noun
editoliphaunt (plural oliphaunts)
- (archaic and historical) elephant
- 1523, John Skelton, “A ryght delectable treatyse upon a goodly garlande or chapelet of laurell”, in Poetical Works of John Skelton, published 1853, page 365:
- The gander, the gose, and the hudge oliphaunt, / Went with the pecok ageyne the fesaunt;
- 1876, William Curry, Jun. & Co, The Dublin university magazine: Volume 88:
- His mugge so Taste and wide, I wel opine,
An oliphaunt he might have swallow'd[.]
- 1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Two Towers, Random House, published 1982, →ISBN, page 283:
- ‘Were there any oliphaunts?’ asked Sam, forgetting his fear in his eagerness for news of strange places.
Usage notes
edit- In current usage, this form is chiefly found in reference to the very large fictional elephants found in The Lord of the Rings and other works by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with archaic senses
- English terms with historical senses
- English terms with quotations
- en:Elephants