elephant
Pluralelephants
- 1A very large gray mammal of Africa or Asia, with a long trunk, large ears and usually tusks, the largest living land animal.
The elephant wrapped its trunk around a bundle of branches.
Wild elephants roam across large stretches of African savanna.
- 2The figure of an elephant as the symbol of the US Republican Party, or the party itself represented by that symbol.
The cartoon showed the elephant and the donkey arguing over the budget while the clock ran out.
Delegates waved banners printed with elephants as the nominee took the stage at the convention.
UsageWritten in lowercase; often set against the donkey, the Democrats' symbol.
Note
Political shorthand from American journalism and cartoons, where the elephant stands for the Republicans and the donkey for the Democrats. It can mean the symbol itself, as on banners waved at a convention, or the party it stands for, so a cartoon of the elephant and the donkey arguing shows the two parties in dispute.
- 3
Less common meanings
- 4A word added after each number when counting aloud, making each count last roughly one second.
After the whistle, count one elephant, two elephant, three elephant before you start running.
The children counted one elephant, two elephant while hiding their faces.
UsageYou can keep elephant singular: one elephant, two elephant, three elephant. The plural form elephants is also used.
Note
A playground timing device in British English, at home in hide-and-seek. Saying one elephant, two elephant, three elephant stretches each number to about one second, so the count cannot be rushed. It works as a spoken beat, not a noun naming several animals, which is why it stays elephant rather than elephants after two.
- 5In xiangqi (Chinese chess), a piece that moves exactly two points diagonally, may not jump over intervening pieces, and may not cross the river.
Somewhat like a bishop in Western chess, but it can only hop two points and may never cross into enemy territory.
Unable to cross the river, her elephants stayed back and helped guard the general.
Because the river divides the board, an elephant must remain on its own half.
Note
The xiangqi piece built for defense. It cannot jump, so its two-point diagonal step is blocked whenever the point in between is occupied. The river keeps it on its own half of the board. Together these limits make it a guard for the general's side rather than an attacking piece.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- The elephant serves a defensive role, protecting the general. xiangqi.com
- The elephant moves exactly two points diagonally and cannot jump over an occupied midpoint. en.wikipedia.org
- The elephant must remain on its own side of the river. wxf-xiangqi.org
- 6A large standard size of paper used in drawing and printing, measuring roughly 23 by 28 inches.
Note
A papermaker's and printer's size name, short for elephant paper. In the trade it often stands alone as a mass noun: printed on elephant, a sheet of elephant. It belongs to the traditional imperial run of sheet sizes and ranks between royal and double elephant. That size is why it suited maps, engravings and other oversized plates.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- Elephant is a paper-trade size name, conventionally measuring 23 by 28 inches. en.wiktionary.org
- Elephant can stand alone as the name of the paper, including in sheet-of constructions. liverpool.ac.uk
- Elephant belongs to traditional imperial paper sizes and is larger than royal but smaller than double elephant. en.wikipedia.org
- Its large size made it useful for maps and engraved plates. unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov
- 7The hard, white substance that makes up the tusks of elephants and similar animals: that is, ivory.
He sent rich gifts of elephant and gold.
1697, Virgil, The Works of VirgilNote
Here the material takes the name of the animal that carries it, a use now obsolete. John Dryden's The Works of Virgil (1697) still has a host supply "heavy gold, and polish'd elephant", treating it as an uncountable substance set beside another precious one, with no article and no plural.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Elephant has an obsolete uncountable sense meaning ivory, using the animal's name for its material. en.wiktionary.org
- John Dryden translated The Works of Virgil, first published in 1697. openbook.lib.utah.edu
- Dryden uses elephant as an uncountable material noun coordinated with gold, without an article or plural ending. gutenberg.org
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of elephant apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It came from Middle English elefant, via Old French elefant and Latin elephantus, from Ancient Greek ἐλέφᾱς (eléphās). This is believed to derive from an Afroasiatic form, such as a Proto-Berber word or the Egyptian word for 'elephant' or 'ivory'. It replaced the older Middle English olifant, which had earlier replaced Old English elpend.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Elephant came from Middle English elefant through Old French elefant and Latin elephantus, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἐλέφᾱς (eléphās). en.wiktionary.org
- An Afroasiatic source, including Proto-Berber or Egyptian words for elephant or ivory, has been proposed. en.wiktionary.org
- Elephant replaced Middle English olifant, which had replaced Old English elpend. en.wiktionary.org