elephantry

Noun

elephantry (plural elephantries)

1. (historical) A branch of an army that uses elephants.
   • But, juſt before we took the Field, we demoliſhed our Elephantry, and to be more on a Level with the Baboons, introduced Monkies upon lean Cats, and thoſe too a little wild, becauſe we could maintain them very cheap, Monkies being content with Nuts, and Cats with any Thing.1747 February 5, “Nº 83. Thursday, February 5, 1747”, in The Fool: Being a Collection of Essays and Epistles, Moral, Political, Humourous^([sic]), and Entertaining. Published in the Daily Gazetteer....
   • The king replied in a proclamation to his subjects that he was going to appear in person "with large forces of infantry, artillery, elephantry, and cavalry, by land and water, and with the might of his army efface these heretic Kalas, and annex their country."1889, William W[otherspoon] Ireland, Through the Ivory Gate: Studies in Psychology and History, Edinburgh: Bell & Bradfute, 12 Bank Street; London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., and Hamilton, Adams & Co....