oliphaunt
elephant
Noun
- elephant
- The gander, the gose, and the hudge oliphaunt, / Went with the pecok ageyne the fesaunt; - 1523, John Skelton, “A ryght delectable treatyse upon a goodly garlande or chapelet of laurell”, in Poetical Works of John...
- His mugge so Taste and wide, I wel opine, An oliphaunt he might have swallow'd[.] - 1876, William Curry, Jun. & Co, The Dublin university magazine: Volume 88:
- ‘Were there any oliphaunts?’ asked Sam, forgetting his fear in his eagerness for news of strange places. - 1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Two Towers, Random House, published 1982, →ISBN, page 283:
Origin
From Middle English oliphaunt, olifaunt, from Old French olifant, from Latin elephantus; see elephant for more information.