Elch

Meaning

moose, Eurasian elk (Alces alces)

Concepts

elk

moose

🫎

elks

alces

european elks

moose

🫎

elk

cuckold

moose doe

deer

🦌

wapiti

Synonyms

Alces alces

Elen

🫎

Europäischer Elch

Hirsch

🦌

Rothirsch

Tapir

Wapiti

Rotwild

europäischer Elch

Alces

Eckpfeiler

Rothirsche

Elche

Translations

élan

alce

eland

alce

alce

alces

orignal

🫎

άλκη

موظ

🫎

ant

Alces alces

mus

Alces

أيل كبير

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɛlç/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German: elch

Inherited from Old High German: elahho

Cognate with English: elk

In summary

From Middle High German elch (also elche), from Old High German elh (also as elho, elaho), from Proto-West Germanic *elh, from Proto-Germanic *elhaz.
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.