proboscidean

noun

pro·​bos·​ci·​de·​an prə-ˌbä-sə-ˈdē-ən 

variants or less commonly proboscidian

prə-ˌbä-ˈsi-dē-ən 

(ˌ)prō-

: 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

These layers provide data on individual months, or even weeks or days, in a proboscidean’s lifetime. — Amber Dance, Discover Magazine, 27 Nov. 2018

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

Word History

Etymology

ultimately from Latin proboscid-, proboscis

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above