different between elephant vs ankus

English

Etymology

From Middle English elefant, elefaunt, from Old French elefant, elefan, olifant, re-latinized in Middle French as elephant, from Latin elephantus, from Ancient Greek ?????? (eléph?s) (gen. ????????? (eléphantos)). Believed to be derived from an Afroasiatic form such as Proto-Berber *e?u (“elephant”) (compare Tahaggart Tamahaq êlu, Tamasheq alu) or Egyptian ?bw (“elephant; ivory”). More at ivory. Replaced Middle English olifant (from the aforementioned Old French form, from Vulgar Latin *olifantus), which replaced Old English elpend (“elephant”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??l?f?nt/, /??l?f?nt/

Noun

elephant (countable and uncountable, plural elephants)

1. A mammal of the order Proboscidea, having a trunk, and two large ivory tusks jutting from the upper jaw.
2. (in particular) Any member of the family Elephantidae not also of the genus Mammuthus.
3. (figuratively) Anything huge and ponderous.
4. (paper, printing) Synonym of elephant paper
5. (Britain, childish) used when counting to add length, so that each count takes about one second

   Let's play hide and seek. I'll count. One elephant, two elephant, three elephant...

6. (uncountable, obsolete) Ivory.

   • He sent rich gifts of elephant and gold.

Synonyms

• (animal): Elephas maximus, Loxodonta africana
• (counting term): see Appendix:Words used as placeholders to count seconds

Hyponyms

• (animal): African bush elephant, African forest elephant, Indian elephant, African elephant

Derived terms

Descendants

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• elephant on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Elephant (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• heptenal

Middle French

Noun

elephant m (plural elephans)

1. elephant (animal)

Descendants

• French: éléphant
  • Haitian Creole: elefan
  • ? Romanian: elefant
• ? Irish: eilifint
• ? Norman: êléphant, éléphant

English

Alternative forms

• ankhus
• ankush
• ankusha

Etymology

From Hindi ????? (a?kus), from Sanskrit ?????? (a?ku?a).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?a?.k?s/

Noun

ankus (plural ankuses)

1. The hooked goad that is used in India to control elephants.
   • 1895, Rudyard Kipling, The King's Ankus

     At last he found something really fascinating laid on the front of a howdah half buried in the coins. It was a three-foot ankus, or elephant-goad—something like a small boathook. The top was one round, shining ruby, and eight inches of the handle below it were studded with rough turquoises close together, giving a most satisfactory grip.

   • 2007, Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road, Sceptre 2008, p. 22:

     He reached for the ivory handle of his ankus and turned to the stripling.

Anagrams

• Kansu, Kuans, Kunas, kunas, unask