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In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, an oliphaunt, or mūmak, is an animal related to the elephant, but much larger*. It lived during the Third Age in the southern land of Harad. Evidently, they became extinct some time after the Battle of the Pelennor Fields on March 15th, 3019 of the Third Age.Oliphaunt is also the title of a short comic poem about the beast quoted by Samwise Gamgee, probably written by a Hobbit who had never actually seen one.
The origin of the word as used by Tolkien is debated by etymologists as being either of Germanic or Greek origin.
Oliphaunts were called mūmakil (singular mūmak) by the Men of Gondor. "Oliphaunt" was something of a slang term devised by Hobbits that only Hobbits used in the story.
- (Normal elephants also exist in Middle-earth, so the two species must have diverged at some point).
See also: war elephantIndian war elephant, relief at Mathura, 2nd century BC War elephants were important, although not widespread, weapons in ancient military history. Their main use was in charges, to trample the enemy and/or break their ranks. War elephants were exclusively
Middle-earth characters
Fictional elephants
