How did the mammoth get its name?

Answer 1

There are several stories purportedly describing how the the name "mammoth" came to be for the large relative of modern elephants. One of the better-documented explanations is that it derives from the word maimanto, an old Russian word derived from a Tatar word for "the earth". It was the name of an animal that supposedly lived underground and was a source of ivory. That would of course tie in with the fact that mammoth carcasses were often found buried in eastern Russia, many with their tusks still attached. The story is further supported by the fact that mammoths were also known to the Chinese who similarly assumed them to be subterranean dwellers.

Interestingly, for over a century the word "mammoth" was solely used as a noun referring to that extinct animal, and NOT as an adjective meaning "huge". That changed in 1802 when President Jefferson was given a large cheese wheel; its manufacturer called it "mammoth cheese", presumably in honor of Jefferson's strong interest in Paleontology. The general public instead connected to word to the wheel's size and ithin a few years its usage morphed to the current meaning.

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The Columbian mammoth got its name from Christopher Columbus.