==

Etymology

Probably related to elephant.

Noun

oliphaunt (Plural: oliphaunts )

1. (Tolkien's Middle-earth ) a very large elephant-like animal

Quotations

• 1954: "Sam drew a deep breath. ‘An Oliphaunt it was!’ he said. ‘So there are Oliphaunts, and I have seen one. What a life! But no one at home will ever believe me. Well, if that's over, I'll have a bit of sleep.’" —J.R.R. Tolkien , The Two Towers , "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit"
• 1955: "The hobbits wandered here and there visiting again the places that they had passed before; and Sam hope always in some shadow of the woods or secret glade to catch, maybe, a glimpse of the great Oliphaunt. And when he learned at the siege of Gondor there had been a great number of these beasts but that they were all destroyed, he thought it a sad loss." —J.R.R. Tolkien , The Return of the King , "The Field of Cormallen"
• 2004: "…using Eagle Express, which even Tolkien admitted was a plot hole large enough to put an Oliphaunt through." — alt.callahans, 4 Mar 2004
• 2004: "There's "Gothmog the lieutenant of Morgul" who takes over after the Witch-King dies. There is no indication that he's an orc, a man, a wraith, or an oliphaunt." —rec.arts.books.tolkein, 19 Jun 2004

Synonyms

• mûmak

See Also

• Wikipedia article on Oliphaunts