proboscidean

noun

pro·​bos·​ci·​de·​an prə-ˌbä-sə-ˈdē-ən How to pronounce proboscidean (audio)
variants or less commonly proboscidian
: any of an order (Proboscidea) of large mammals comprising the elephants and extinct related forms (such as mastodons)
proboscidean adjective

Examples of proboscidean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Elephants and woolly mammoths are distantly related, and both belong to a group of animals known as proboscideans. Jeanne Timmons, Ars Technica, 3 May 2023 Here are some of the latest insights into daily lives and eventual disappearance of the prehistoric proboscidean: 1. Amber Dance, Discover Magazine, 27 Nov. 2018 These layers provide data on individual months, or even weeks or days, in a proboscidean’s lifetime. Amber Dance, Discover Magazine, 27 Nov. 2018 As Jacey Fortin reports for the New York Times, Jude, now 10, had accidentally stumbled upon the fossilized skull of a 1.2 million-year-old stegomastodon, an extinct proboscidean that belongs to the same family as elephants, mammoths and mastodons. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 19 July 2017 As Jacey Fortin reports for the New York Times, Jude, now 10, had accidentally stumbled upon the fossilized skull of a 1.2 million-year-old stegomastodon, an extinct proboscidean that belongs to the same family as elephants, mammoths and mastodons. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 20 July 2017 Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved. Joseph J. Kolb, Fox News, 18 July 2017 Phiomia, Deinotherium, Amebelodon, and other archaic proboscideans are represented by both fossils and models, and the artwork in the exhibit is wonderful. Brian Switek, WIRED, 25 Oct. 2010

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'proboscidean.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

ultimately from Latin proboscid-, proboscis

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of proboscidean was in 1835

Dictionary Entries Near proboscidean

Cite this Entry

“Proboscidean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proboscidean. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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