elephantine

[ el-uh-fan-teen, -tahyn, -tin, el-uh-fuhn-teen, -tahyn ]

adjective

1. pertaining to or resembling an elephant.
2. huge, ponderous, or clumsy:

   elephantine movements; elephantine humor.

elephantine

/ ˌɛlɪˈfæntaɪn /

adjective

1. denoting, relating to, or characteristic of an elephant or elephants
2. huge, clumsy, or ponderous

Word History and Origins

Origin of elephantine¹

1620–30; < Latin elephantinus < Greek elephántinos. See elephant, -ine ¹

Example Sentences

Lloyd Grove on the elephantine cleanup challenges of having an unruly collection of egomaniacs as backers.

From The Daily Beast

General Botha was big, large and great in body and brain—elephantine!

From Project Gutenberg

They, like the press as a whole, were obviously waiting to see which way the great elephantine public would jump.

From Project Gutenberg

The Professor, as I remembered him, had an elephantine sense of humour capable of the most clumsy and unwieldly gambollings.

From Project Gutenberg

He bowed and shrugged and spread open his hands as he spoke with his elaborate and elephantine sarcasm.

From Project Gutenberg

There was something elephantine about his nature that prevented him from being simple or casual in his moods.

From Project Gutenberg