Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Elephant
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Etymology== The word ''elephant'' is derived from the [[Latin]] word {{lang|la|elephas}} ([[genitive]] {{lang|la|elephantis}}) {{gloss|elephant}}, which is the [[Latinisation of names|Latinised]] form of the [[ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἐλέφας}} ({{transliteration|grc|elephas}}) (genitive {{lang|grc|ἐλέφαντος}} ({{transliteration|grc|elephantos}},<ref name=LSJ>{{cite book |author=Liddell, H. G. |author2=Scott, R |year=1940 |title=A Greek-English Lexicon |edition=Revised and augmented |place=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |chapter=ἐλέφας |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=e)le/fas}}</ref>)) probably from a non-[[Indo-European language]], likely [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]].<ref name=etymology>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Harper, D. |title=Elephant |dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=elephant|access-date=25 October 2012 |archive-date=24 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224141504/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=elephant |url-status=live}}</ref> It is attested in [[Mycenaean Greek]] as {{transliteration|gmy|e-re-pa}} (genitive {{transliteration|gmy|e-re-pa-to}}) in [[Linear B]] syllabic script.<ref>{{Cite book |editor1=Nosch, M.-L. |editor2=Laffineur, R. |title=Kosmos. Jewellery, Adornment and Textiles in the Aegean Bronze Age |publisher=Peeters |series=Aegaeum 33 |place=Liège |year=2012 |last1=Lujan |first1=E. R. |last2=Bernabe |first2=A. |chapter=Ivory and horn production in Mycenaean texts |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/2229199 |access-date=22 January 2013 |archive-date=20 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020172849/https://www.academia.edu/2229199 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.palaeolexicon.com/default.aspx?static=12&wid=189|title=elephant|publisher=Palaeolexicon, Word study tool of ancient languages |access-date=19 January 2013 |archive-date=4 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121204075314/http://www.palaeolexicon.com/default.aspx?static=12&wid=189|url-status=live}}</ref> As in Mycenaean Greek, [[Homer]] used the Greek word to mean [[ivory]], but after the time of [[Herodotus]], it also referred to the animal.<ref name=LSJ/> The word ''elephant'' appears in [[Middle English]] as {{lang|enm|olyfaunt}} in {{Circa|1300}} and was borrowed from [[Old French]] {{lang|fro|oliphant}} in the 12th century.<ref name=etymology/>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)