ELK

wapiti, elk, American elk, Cervus elaphus canadensis

(noun) large North American deer with large much-branched antlers in the male

elk, moose, Alces alces

(noun) large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called ‘elk’ in Europe and ‘moose’ in North America

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology 1

Noun

elk (plural elk or elks)

Any of various large species of deer such as the red deer, moose or wapiti (see usage notes).

The subspecies of the moose (Alces alces alces, alternatively named Eurasian elk to avoid confusion with the wapiti) that occurs only in Europe and Asia.

(now, chiefly, Europe) Any moose (Alces alces), the largest member of the deer family.

(North America) The common wapiti (Cervus canadensis), the second largest member of the deer family, once thought to be a subspecies of red deer.

Usage notes

Elk originally referred to the moose. The wapiti was named elk by European explorers in North America, who thought it resembled the moose.

The word elk is now commonly used in the same way as the word caribou is used for the subspecies of the reindeer. The only difference here is that it refers only to a single subspecies, while caribou refers to several subspecies of the reindeer.

Synonyms

• (Cervus candensis): wapiti

• (Alces alces): moose

Etymology 2

Noun

elk (plural elks)

(obsolete) Alternative form of elke (the common swan (Cygnus cygnus, syn. Cygnus ferus))

Anagrams

• Kel, Lek, lek

Noun

Elk (plural Elks)

(informal) An Acorn Electron computer.

A member of a fraternal organization for men called the Elks.

Anagrams

• Kel, Lek, lek

Source: Wiktionary

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Elk, n. Etym: [Icel. elgr; akin to Sw. elg, AS. eolh, OHG. elaho, MHG. elch, cf. L. alces; perh. akin to E. eland.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: A large deer, of several species. The European elk (Alces machlis or Cervus alces) is closely allied to the American moose. The American elk, or wapiti (Cervus Canadensis), is closely related to the European stag. See Moose, and Wapiti. Irish elk (Paleon.), a large, extinct, Quaternary deer (Cervus giganteus) with widely spreading antlers. Its remains have been found beneath the peat of swamps in Ireland and England. See Illustration in Appendix; also Illustration of Antler.

– Cape elk (Zoöl.), the eland.

Elk, Elke, n. (Zoöl.)

Definition: The European wild or whistling swan (Cygnus ferus).

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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