elefante

elephant

noun eh-leh-FAHN-teh Rare

Origin: Greek elephas, via Latin elephantus.

Usage Note

Elefante is masculine: l'elefante (m). The feminine l'elefantessa exists for a female elephant. The plural is gli elefanti. The idiom fare di una mosca un elefante ('to make an elephant out of a fly') corresponds to the English 'to make a mountain out of a molehill'. Elefante is also a common Italian surname.

Examples

"L'elefante è il mammifero terrestre più grande del mondo."

Natural Translation

The elephant is the largest land mammal in the world.

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