Main Entry: el·e·phan·ti·a·sis

Pronunciation: \ˌe-lə-fən-ˈtī-ə-səs, -ˌfan-\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural el·e·phan·ti·a·ses \-ˌsēz\

Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, a kind of leprosy, from Greek, from elephant-, elephas

Date: 1562

1 : enlargement and thickening of tissues; specifically : the enormous enlargement of a limb or the scrotum caused by obstruction of lymphatics by filarial worms (especially Wuchereria bancrofti)
2 : an undesirable usually enormous growth, enlargement, or overdevelopment <elephantiasis of the imagination>