Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

oliphant

/ˈɑlɪfənt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.52 in modern English

Syllables: oliphant
IPA: /ˈɑlɪfənt/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Archaic

noun

An ancient ivory hunting-horn.

name

Example Sentences

"She [Diana] hath ſent (to plague vs) a huge ſauadge Boare, Of an vn-meaſured height and magnitude. […] His briſtles poynted like a range of pikes Ranck't on his backe: his foame ſnowes where he feeds His tuskes are like the Indian Oliphants."

Etymology

From Middle English olifaunt, from Anglo-Norman oliphant (“ivory, elephant”) and Old French oliphant (“ivory, elephant, musical horn of ivory”), from Latin elephantus (“elephant”), from Ancient Greek ἐλέφας (eléphas, “ivory, elephant”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: olifaunt, oliphant, elephantus, ἐλέφας

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

oliphants (plural) olifant (alternative) olyfaunte (alternative) olyphant (alternative) oliphaunt (alternative)

Derived Forms

Oliphantian

Frequently Paired Words

Olyphant

Questions

How do you pronounce oliphant?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɑlɪfənt/.
What does oliphant mean?: An elephant.
Where does oliphant come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce oliphant

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