elk
Any of the subspecies of the moose, that occurs only in Europe and AsiaAny 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.
» We went out elk hunting.
Meaning
3 sensesAny of various large species of deer such as the red deer, moose or wapiti (see usage notes).
(Commonwealth, Europe)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.
common deer of temperate Europe and Asia
(Canada, US)Common wapiti (Cervus canadensis), the second largest member of the deer family, once thought to be a subspecies of red deer.
(British, India)Sambar (Cervus unicolor).
Examples
18 sentencesWe went out elk hunting.
What species of elk is it?
The figure was just an elk.
I hunt elk in my leisure-time.
deIn meiner Freizeit gehe ich auf Elchjagd.
I saw an elk in the forest.
ruЯ видел в лесу лося.
deIch habe im Wald einen Elch gesehen.
Origin
From Middle English elk, from Old English eolc, eolh (“elk”), from Proto-West Germanic *elFrom 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”).
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Forms
plural: elk / elksSynonyms
8 synonyms- large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called ‘elk’ in Europe and ‘moose’ in North America:mooseAlces alces
- common deer of temperate Europe and Asia:red deerAmerican elkwapitiCervus elaphus
- large North American deer with large much-branched antlers in the male:wapitiAmerican elkCervus elaphus canadensis
Word family
9 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Plural nouns — Because its plural is irregular