From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Elephantine \El`e*phan"tine\, a. [L. elephantinus of ivory, Gr.
?: cf. F. ['e]l['e]phantin.]
Pertaining to the elephant, or resembling an elephant
(commonly, in size); hence, huge; immense; heavy; as, of
elephantine proportions; an elephantine step or tread.
[1913 Webster]
{Elephantine epoch} (Geol.), the epoch distinguished by the
existence of large pachyderms. --Mantell.
{Elephantine tortoise} (Zo["o]l.), a huge land tortoise;
esp., {Testudo elephantina}, from islands in the Indian
Ocean; and {T. elephantopus}, from the Galapagos Islands.
Elephantoid
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
elephantine
adj 1: of great mass; huge and bulky; "a jumbo jet"; "jumbo
shrimp" [syn: {elephantine}, {gargantuan}, {giant},
{jumbo}]
From The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003) [jargon]:
elephantine
adj.
Used of programs or systems that are both conspicuous {hog}s (owing perhaps
to poor design founded on {brute force and ignorance}) and exceedingly
{hairy} in source form. An elephantine program may be functional and even
friendly, but (as in the old joke about being in bed with an elephant) it's
tough to have around all the same (and, like a pachyderm, difficult to
maintain). In extreme cases, hackers have been known to make trumpeting
sounds or perform expressive proboscatory mime at the mention of the
offending program. Usage: semi-humorous. Compare ?has the elephant nature?
and the somewhat more pejorative {monstrosity}. See also {second-system
effect} and {baroque}.
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