elk
Meanings
Noun
- large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in Europe and `moose' in North America
- large North American deer with large much-branched antlers in the male
- common deer of temperate Europe and Asia
- Any of various large species of deer such as the red deer, moose or wapiti (see usage notes).
- Any of the subspecies of the moose (Alces alces, the largest member of the deer family, alternatively named Eurasian elk to avoid confusion with the wapiti), that occurs only in Europe and Asia.
- Any of various large species of deer such as the red deer, moose or wapiti (see usage notes).
- Common wapiti (Cervus canadensis), the second largest member of the deer family, once thought to be a subspecies of red deer.
- Any of various large species of deer such as the red deer, moose or wapiti (see usage notes).
- Sambar (Cervus unicolor).
- Obsolete form of elke (common swan (Cygnus cygnus, syn. Cygnus ferus)).
Origin / Etymology
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.
Synonyms
alce, Alces alces, American elk, Cervus elaphus, Cervus elaphus canadensis, European elk, moose, red deer, wapiti
Scrabble Score: 7
elk is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordelk is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
elk is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary