Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

elephant

/ˈɛləfənt/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.08 in modern English

Syllables
ele-phant
IPA
/ˈɛləfənt/
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A large mammal of the family Elephantidae in the order Proboscidea, having a trunk, and native to Africa and Asia.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Anything huge and ponderous.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Synonym of elephant paper.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

used when counting to add length, so that each count takes about one second

British usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

Ivory.

Obsolete; Uncountable

noun

A xiangqi piece that is moved two points diagonally, may not jump over intervening pieces and may not cross the river.

Countable; Uncountable

name

The 105th sura (chapter) of the Quran.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English elefant, elefaunt, from Old French elefant, elefan, olifant, re-latinized in Middle French as elephant, from Latin elephantus, from Ancient Greek ἐλέφᾱς (eléphās) (gen. ἐλέφαντος (eléphantos)). Believed to be derived from an Afroasiatic form such as Proto-Berber *eḷu (“elephant”) (compare Tamahaq êlu, Tamasheq alu) or Egyptian ꜣbw (“elephant; ivory”). More at ivory. Replaced Middle English olifant (from the aforementioned Old French form, from Vulgar Latin *olifantus), which replaced Old English elpend (“elephant”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: elefant, -, elephantus, ἐλέφᾱς, *eḷu, ꜣbw

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈɛləfənt/
  • British English: /ˈɛlɪfənt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

elephants (plural) oliphant (alternative, obsolete) olyphant (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

elephantback elephantbird elephantdom elephantesque elephantess elephantfish elephanthood elephanticide elephantid elephantitis elephantlike elephantophile

Phrases

baby elephant in the room bull elephant cow elephant double elephant eat an elephant one bite at a time Elephant and Castle elephant apple elephant bed

Frequently Paired Words

chryselephantine elephancy elephanta elephanter elephantiac elephantiasis elephantic Elephantidae

Synonyms

elephantid elephant paper elephant oliphaunt

Questions

How do you pronounce elephant?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɛləfənt/.
What does elephant mean?
A large mammal of the family Elephantidae in the order Proboscidea, having a trunk, and native to Africa and Asia.
Where does elephant come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce elephant

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “elephant”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɛləfənt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “elephant”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “elephant” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.