how did the elephant get it's name?

Question

how did the elephant get it's name?

Answer 1

The origins of the name 'elephant' are as follows :

'Elephant' is derived from 'olyfaunt' (c.1300), from Old French 'oliphant', from Latin 'elephantus', from Greek 'elephas' (gen. 'elephantos') - probably via the Phoenician (Hamitic) 'elu'- the source of the word for 'elephant' in many Semetic languages, or possibly from the Semetic 'ibhah'.

Re-spelled after 1550, on the Latin model.

'White elephant' (1851) supposedly arose from the practice of the King of Siam of presenting one of the sacred albino elephants to a courtier who had fallen from favor : the gift was a great honor, but the cost of proper upkeep of one was ruinous.

To 'see the elephant' meaning 'be acquainted with life, and gain knowledge by experience' is an American English colloquialism from 1835.

Answer 2

Well, in the case of Nellie the elephant (Remember, packed her trunk and ran away from the circus)Nellie's mam and dad decided on a name and then went to the regisrty office, got her registered and had her name put on the birth certificate.

In Dumbo's case, her father was never known, and so her Mum decided upon the name by herself.