elephant

The story

1. Egyptian · derived fromꜣbw“elephant; ivory”
2. Proto-Berber · derived from*eḷu“elephant”
3. Ancient Greek · derived fromἐλέφᾱς
4. Latin · derived fromelephantus
5. Old French · derived fromelefant
6. Middle English · inherited fromelefant
7. English todayelephant

From Middle English elefant, elefaunt, from Old French elefant, elefan, olifant, re-latinized in Middle French as elephant, from Latin elephantus, from Ancient Greek ἐλέφᾱς (eléphās) (gen. ἐλέφαντος (eléphantos)). Believed to be derived from an Afroasiatic form such as Proto-Berber *eḷu (“elephant”) (compare Tamahaq êlu, Tamasheq alu) or Egyptian ꜣbw (“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”).

Words from the same roots