[el.e.phant] n, pl elephants also elephant often attrib [ME, fr. MF & L; MF olifant, fr. L elephantus, fr. Gk elephant-, elephas] (14c) 1: any of a family (Elephantidae, the elephant family) of thickset usu. extremely large nearly hairless herbivorous mammals that have a snout elongated into a muscular trunk and two incisors in the upper jaw developed esp. in the male into large ivory tusks and that include two living forms and various extinct relatives: as a: a tall large-eared mammal (Loxodonta africana) of tropical Africa--called also African elephant b: a relatively small-eared mammal (Elephas maximus) of forests of southeastern Asia--called also Asian elephant, Indian elephant
2: an animal or fossil related to the elephants
3: one that is uncommonly large or hard to manage