Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to an elephant.
  • adjective Enormous in size or strength.
  • adjective Ponderously clumsy.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to the elephant; resembling an elephant.
  • Hence Elephant-like; huge; immense; heavy; clumsy: as, he was of elephantine proportions; elephantine movements.
  • Made or consisting of ivory. See chryselephantine.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Pertaining to the elephant, or resembling an elephant (commonly, in size); hence, huge; immense; heavy
  • adjective (Geol.) the epoch distinguished by the existence of large pachyderms.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) a huge land tortoise; esp., Testudo elephantina, from islands in the Indian Ocean; and T. elephantopus, from the Galapagos Islands.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of elephants.
  • adjective Very large.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of great mass; huge and bulky

Etymologies

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Examples

  • I agree about that first picture- never have I seen a clearer example of the adjective 'elephantine'.

    A Long, Weaving Road sfmike 2006

  • "Thank you all very much," she said -- and was gone, with a kind of elephantine swiftness.

    Captain Jim Mary Grant Bruce 1918

  • He had become suave and unctuous, a kind of elephantine irony pervading his laborious attempts at conciliation.

    I Will Repay Emmuska Orczy Orczy 1906

  • Their predominant expression was good nature, a kind of elephantine docility, which neutralized the awe inspired by his immense size.

    Helen and Arthur or, Miss Thusa's Spinning Wheel Caroline Lee Hentz 1828

  • Aurochs were immortalised in prehistoric cave paintings and admired for their brute strength and "elephantine" size by Julius Caesar.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com 2010

  • Aurochs were immortalised in prehistoric cave paintings and admired for their brute strength and "elephantine" size by Julius Caesar.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com 2010

  • Harsh actinic lights illuminated both the elephantine generators and horizontal warp core, and three twitching bodies on the floor.

    Star Trek The Next Generation® David A. McIntee 2011

  • Black Matt and Tom Morrisey merely held on to each other and lifted their clumsy-booted feet in what seemed a grotesque, elephantine dance.

    Chapter 4 2010

  • No, he felt obliged to compose works that couldn't possibly sustain their elephantine size, mega extended canvases that often occupied two or three entire CDs.

    The Jazz Scene: Whirling Through a Wynton Wonderland Will Friedwald 2011

  • Harsh actinic lights illuminated both the elephantine generators and horizontal warp core, and three twitching bodies on the floor.

    Star Trek The Next Generation® David A. McIntee 2011

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