Masculine

From Middle High German elch, elhe, from Old High German elahho, eliho, elcho, from Proto-Germanic *elhaz, *elhô. In Early Modern German, the word had been entirely replaced with Elen (see there). In the late 18th century, the form Elk was borrowed from English elk, principally for the North American moose (then still thus called). This subsequently triggered renewed use of Elch, be it based on Middle High German or on East Prussian dialects where the word may have survived. After the mid-19th century, Elch began to make inroads, possibly reinforced by the entry Elen (1859) in the Deutsches Wörterbuch, where Grimm spoke disparagingly of this supposedly non-Germanic word.