proboscideanadj.n.
/ˌprɒbəˈsɪdɪən/, U.S. /ˌproʊbəˈsɪdiən/ Chiefly Zoology.
A. adj.
1. Of or relating to the mammalian order Proboscidea (see Proboscidea n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > order Proboscidea (elephants) > [adjective]
proboscidean1834
1834 Lancet 22 Mar. 954/1 The rhinoceros..requires to have a head more light and moveable than in the proboscidian pachyderma.
1893 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 354 Then was the culminating epoch of the proboscidean family.
1931 Times 9 May 13/6 There is no evidence that the proboscidean milk-dentition will persist until maturity.
1961 J. Stubblefield Davies's Introd. Palaeontol. (ed. 3) vi. 165 (caption) Dinotherium is a peculiar offshoot of the Proboscidean line.
2000 C. Tudge Variety of Life i. i. 8 About 150 proboscidean species are known from the past 50 million years, including a huge array of ‘true’ elephants..plus mastodonts, gomphotheres, deinotheres, and others.
2. Of various other animals: having a proboscis. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > head and neck > [adjective] > having a snout > having a long nose > relating to proboscis > having a trunk or proboscis
trunkeda1794
proboscidiferous1828
proboscic1835
proboscidean1838
1838 T. R. Jones in Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. II. 385/2 In most of the proboscidian species [of mollusc] the tongue is short.
1868 R. Owen On Anat. Vertebr. III. 337 In the great proboscidian and hooded Seals.
1901 Brit. Med. Jrnl. No. 2101. 842 Marsh fevers are produced by the bites of proboscidian insects.
1989 Time Mag. (Nexis) 15 May 77 One County character may return. Will it be the proboscidean penguin?
3. Of, relating to, or resembling a proboscis. Frequently humorous. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > head and neck > [adjective] > having a snout > having a long nose > relating to proboscis
proboscidean1852
1852 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 142 632 In the Arenicolæ and Eunice he describes proboscidian and branchial hearts, which do not exist.
1875 C. C. Blake Zoology 58 The snout of the Hedgehog is elongated, and the nose proboscidean.
1898 F. Lees tr. Margueritte's Disaster 72 Du Breuil noticed the proboscidian gravity with which a Captain of Gendarmerie,..with an enormous nose, carried a petit-verre to his mouth.
1968 H. M. Lenhoff in M. Florkin & B. T. Scheer Chem. Zool. II. ii. iii. 196 Nutriments are supplied to the developing gonophore by pressure changes in the proboscidean cavity.
2003 Times (Nexis) 2 Oct. 39 The shape of the evolutionist's own nose was also crucial, for his [sc. Darwin's] appointment to the position of naturalist was almost jeopardised by the proboscidian prejudices of the Beagle's captain.
B. n.
A mammal of the order Proboscidea; an elephant or related animal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > order Proboscidea (elephants) > [noun] > member of
proboscidean1835
1835 W. Kirby On Power of God in Creation of Animals II. xvii. 199 In the Proboscidians of Cuvier, including the elephant and Mastodon, or fossil elephant, there are five toes.
1863 C. Lyell Geol. Evid. Antiq. Man xii. 226 Before the growth of the ancient forest, the Mastodon arvernensis, a large proboscidian,..appears to have died out.
1927 Amer. Mercury Jan. 69/1 Geologists have discovered implements of stone under the skeletons of mastodons and mammoths, proving..that man was contemporaneous with those proboscidians.
1968 A. S. Romer Procession of Life xvi. 264 The evolutionary history of the proboscideans is fairly adequately known.
2003 Nature 4 Dec. 509/3 Another surprise is the oldest occurrence of deinotheres, peculiar proboscideans with downward-curved lower tusks.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1834