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Definition 2024
oliphaunt
oliphaunt
English
Alternative forms
Noun
oliphaunt (plural oliphaunts)
- (archaic and historical) elephant
- 1523, John Skelton, “A ryght delectable treatyse upon a goodly garlande or chapelet of laurell” in Poetical Works of John Skelton, 1853, p 365:
- The gander, the gose, and the hudge oliphaunt, / Went with the pecok ageyne the fesaunt;
- 1876, ?, William Curry, Jun. & Co, The Dublin university magazine: Volume 88:
- His mugge so Taste and wide, I wel opine,
An oliphaunt he might have swallow'd[.]
- His mugge so Taste and wide, I wel opine,
- 1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Two Towers (second volume of The Lord of the Rings), Random House (1982), ISBN 978-0-345-33971-3, page 283:
- ‘Were there any oliphaunts?’ asked Sam, forgetting his fear in his eagerness for news of strange places.
- 1523, John Skelton, “A ryght delectable treatyse upon a goodly garlande or chapelet of laurell” in Poetical Works of John Skelton, 1853, p 365:
Usage notes
- In current usage, this form is chiefly found in reference to the very large fictional elephants found in The Lord of the Rings and other works by J. R. R. Tolkien.
