elk

Meaning

1. (Commonwealth, Europe) Any of various large species of deer such as the red deer, moose or wapiti (see usage notes).
2. (Canada, US) Any of various large species of deer such as the red deer, moose or wapiti (see usage notes).
3. (British, India) Any of various large species of deer such as the red deer, moose or wapiti (see usage notes).

Synonyms

moose

🫎

wapiti

red deer

American elk

moose

🫎

European elk

deer

🦌

Cervus elaphus canadensis

Alces alces

Cervus elaphus

wapiti elk

North American elk

antelope

moose doe

fawn

venison

gaselle

shou

hangul

maral

Alces

tule elk

wapita

Translations

élan

Elch

🫎

alce

eland

alce

Cervus

alce

Alces alces

alces

موظ

🫎

orignal

🫎

ant

άλκη

wapiti

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɛlk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: elk

Inherited from Old English: eolc

Cognate with Low German: Elk

Cognate with German: Elch

Cognate with Danish: elg

Cognate with Norwegian: elg

Cognate with Swedish: älg

Cognate with Polish: łoś

Cognate with Russian: лось

Cognate with German: Elen

Cognate with Tokharian A: yäl

Cognate with Tokharian B: ylem

Cognate with Lithuanian: élnis

Cognate with Armenian: եղնիկ

In summary

From Middle English elk, from Old English eolc, eolh (“elk”), from Proto-West Germanic *elh, from Proto-Germanic *elhaz, *algiz (“elk”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁élḱis, *h₁ólḱis, variant of *h₁elh₁én, from *h₁el- (“deer”).
See also Low German Elk, German Elch, Danish elg, Norwegian elg, Swedish älg; also Polish łoś, Russian лось (losʹ), Vedic Sanskrit ऋश्य (ṛ́śya, “antelope”); also German Elen, Tocharian A yäl, Tocharian B ylem (“gazelle”), Lithuanian élnis (“stag”), Armenian եղնիկ (eġnik, “doe, hind”). Doublet of Elhaz.