The Collaborative International Dictionary
Olifant \Ol"i*fant\, n. [OF.]
An elephant. [Obs.]
An ancient horn, made of ivory.
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context obsolete English) An elephant. 2 (context historical English) An ancient horn, made of ivory.
Wikipedia
Olifant (an alternate spelling of the word elephant) was the name applied in the Middle Ages to ivory hunting horns made from elephants' tusks. One of the most famous olifants belonged to the legendary Frankish knight Roland, protagonist of The Song of Roland.
In The Song of Roland, Roland carries his olifant while serving on the rearguard of Charlemagne's army. When they are attacked at the Battle of Roncevaux, Oliver tells Roland to use it to call for aid, but he refuses. Roland finally relents, but the battle is already lost. He tries to destroy the olifant along with his sword Durendal, lest they fall into enemy hands. In the end, Roland blows the horn, but the force required bursts his temple, resulting in death. The Karlamagnussaga elaborates (V. c.XIV) that Roland's olifant was a unicorn's horn, hunted in India.
Another famous olifant belonged to Gaston IV, viscount of Béarn, and is now preserved in the Spanish city of Saragosse, which he helped conquer from the Banu Hud.
Usage examples of "olifant".
Well, it seemed that two months before Andrew and a Dutchman called Smit had started out to try their luck, and somewhere on the Olifants the two had gone out one evening and only one had returned.
Down from the mountains she went an dover the Olifants River to make a brief fuel stop at Vanrynsdorp and scan the road map anxiously in the light of the gasoline pumps.
They are, beginning from the south, the Olifants, the Groot Letaba, the Letsitela, the Klein Letaba, and the Klein Labongo, on which stands Blaauwildebeestefontein.
It had been the original intention to start for the Olifants on the following day, so there was a scanty supply of food.