proboscisyoudaoicibaDictYouDict
proboscis: [17] The elephant’s trunk was originally called proboscis because it is used for getting food – by pulling down leafy branches, for instance. The word comes via Latin from Greek proboskís, a compound formed from pró ‘in front’ and bóskein ‘feed’.
proboscis (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
c. 1600, "elephant's trunk," from Latin proboscis (Pliny), from Greek proboskis "elephant's trunk," literally "means for taking food," from pro "forward" (see pro-) + boskein "to nourish, feed," from boskesthai "graze, be fed," from stem *bot- (source of botane "grass, fodder;" see botanic).