mammoth

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun any of numerous extinct elephants widely distributed in the Pleistocene; extremely large with hairy coats and long upcurved tusks
  2. adjective so exceedingly large or extensive as to suggest a giant or mammoth

Etymology

From obsolete Russian ма́мант (mámant), modern ма́монт (mámont), probably from a Uralic word, such as Proto-Mansi *mān-oŋt (“earth horn”). Possibly influenced by behemoth. Adjectival use was popularized in the early 1800s by references to the Cheshire Mammoth Cheese presented to American paleontologist and president Thomas Jefferson.

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