mammoth
oxford
views updated May 29 2018mammoth a large extinct elephant of the
Pleistocene epoch, typically hairy with a sloping back and long curved tusks. Recorded from the early 18th century, the word comes from Russian
mamo(n)t, and is probably of Siberian origin. The adjectival use meaning ‘huge’ developed in the early 19th century.
Mammoth Cave in
Kentucky, the largest known cave system in the world, consisting of over 480 km (300 miles) of charted passageways and containing some spectacular rock formations.
The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES
Mammoth
gale
views updated May 23 2018Mammoth ★ 2006
Frank Abernathy (Ventresca) is the curator of a natural history museum in Blackwood, Louisiana. When a meteor hits the building, it thaws the iceencased star attraction. That would be a mammoth that can suck the life out of people with its trunk when it's not stomping on ‘em. Unfortunately, the pic's tone varies from goofy to banal to gross, which diminishes it's cheese factor. A Sci-fi Channel original. 90m/C DVD . Vincent Ventresca, Summer Glau, Leila Arcieri, Tom Skerritt, Cole Williams, Marcus Lyle Brown, Charles Carroll; D: Tim Cox; W: Sean Keller, Tim Cox, Brooke Durham; C: Bing Sokolsky; M: John Dickson. CABLE
VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
mammoth
oxford
views updated May 21 2018mammoth Extinct
Pleistocene ancestor of the
elephant. Many were covered with long red or brown hair. The prominent tusks were long and curved, sometimes crossing in adult males. In summer months, the permafrost of
Siberia has been known to yield whole specimens that have been frozen for as long as 30,000 years. Genus Mammuthus.
World Encyclopedia
mammoth
oxford
views updated May 18 2018mam·moth / ˈmamə[unvoicedth]/ •
n. a large extinct elephant (genus Mammuthus) of the Pleistocene epoch, typically hairy with a sloping back and long curved tusks. •
adj. huge: a mammoth corporation.
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
Mammoth
oxford
views updated May 08 2018Mammoth A reversed
polarity subchron which occurs within the
Gauss normal
polarity chron.
A Dictionary of Earth Sciences AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY
mammoth
oxford
views updated May 23 2018 A Dictionary of Zoology MICHAEL ALLABY
mammoth
oxford
views updated May 08 2018 A Dictionary of Earth Sciences AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY
mammoth
oxford
views updated Jun 11 2018mammoth large extinct elephant. XVIII. — Russ.
mámo(n)t, of uncert orig.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD