adjective
elephantine
el-uh-FAN-teen/ˌelɪˈfæntiːn/
Very large and heavy, like an elephant.
The elephantine armchair wedges against the doorway as the man struggles to move it.
Etymology
The pieces mean 'pertaining to an elephant,' but the English adjective was first recorded meaning 'huge.' The elephant supplies the image of imposing size and bulk behind this sense.
In context
Then last night he was no sooner stretched in bed than he seemed to be of an enormous size in all his limbs. His nose, his mouth, his toes were elephantine.
More examples
- Elephantine trucks rumble past the house all day.
- Moving that elephantine desk requires four people.
- The elephantine machine barely fits through the warehouse doors.
Forms
elephantine