oliphant

An elephant oliphant (plural oliphants) (archaic and historical) An elephant. An ancient ivory hunting-horn.

1300, olyfaunt, from Old French olifant (12c., Modern French éléphant), from Latin elephantus, from Greek elephas (genitive elephantos) "elephant; ivory," probably from a non-Indo-European language, likely via Phoenician (compare Hamitic elu "elephant," source of the word for it in many Semitic languages, or possibly ...

Because the Franks are so outnumbered, Olivier asks Roland to blow his oliphant - a horn made out of an elephant's tusk - so that Charlemagne will hear and come, with his army, to the aid of the rear guard.

Oliphant is the medieval French word for elephant. African elephant ivory, one of the most precious materials used in medieval art came to southern Italian ports through trade with the Islamic East as early as the tenth century.

Olifant (also known as oliphant) was the name applied in the Middle Ages to a type of carved ivory hunting horn created from elephant tusks. Olifants were most prominently used in Europe from roughly the tenth to the sixteenth century, although some were created later.

Break 'oliphant' down into sounds: [OL] + [I] + [FUHNT] - say it out loud and exaggerate the sounds until you can consistently produce them.

Break 'oliphant' down into sounds: [OL] + [I] + [FUHNT] - say it out loud and exaggerate the sounds until you can consistently produce them.

The Oliphant Clan Chief's motto is 'A tout pourvoir' (Provide for all) and the crest fea-tures a unicorn's head. Lord Oliphant's Coat of Arms features the unicorn and motto with two rampant elephants and three crescents argent against a red background (gules).

Roland's refusal was centered on the question of honor, thereby dooming his army. Being a great warrior, Roland did not blow the oliphant because of his pride; he considered that blowing the oliphant meant that he would have to surrender implying he would have lost the battle.

Written at the time of the First Crusade to the Holy Lands at the end of the 11th century, The Song of Roland reflects the fight between Christianity and Islam, or good and evil. The poem glorifies Christianity and its defeat over Islam, with the intention of encouraging Christians during the Crusades.

An Oliphaunt is about twice the dimensions of an African elephant, which means that it would weigh 8 times as much; and African elephants weigh around 5 tons. 40 tons is not impossible, since the dinosaur Dreadnoughtus weighed about 65 tons.

olifant