Plural of mammoth; extinct elephantine mammals of the Pleistocene epoch, or anything of enormous size.
From Russian mamot, possibly from Vogul (Mansi) mang ont 'earth horn,' referring to tusks found in the ground. The word entered English in the 18th century when these fossils were first scientifically described.
The word 'mammoth' came to us through a fascinating linguistic journey from Siberian indigenous languages, where people had been finding these mysterious tusks in the frozen ground for centuries. It's poetic that a word meaning 'earth horn' became our symbol for anything gigantic.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.