Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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.
{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.
Source : WordNet®
elephantine
adj : of great mass; huge and bulky; "a jumbo jet"; "jumbo shrimp"
[syn: {gargantuan}, {giant}, {jumbo}]
Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing
elephantine
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}.
[{Jargon File}]