Oliphaunt
From Wacklepedia - The Free Encyclopedia
In
J.R.R. Tolkien's universe of
Middle-earth, an
oliphaunt is an animal predecessor to the
elephant, but much larger. It lived during the
Third Age in the southern land of
Harad. Evidently becoming extinct some time after the
Battle of the Pelennor Fields on
March 15th, 3019 of the Third Age.
Oliphaunt is also the title of a short comic poem about the beast quoted by Samwise Gamgee, probably written by a Hobbit who had never actually seen one.
The origin of the word as used by Tolkien is debated by etymologists as being either of Germanic or Greek origin.
Oliphaunts were called mûmakil (singular mûmak) by the Men of Gondor.
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