eland

[ ee-luh nd ]

/ ˈi lənd /

noun, plural e·lands, (especially collectively) e·land.

either of two large African antelopes of the genus Taurotragus, having long, spirally twisted horns: now rare.

Nearby words

elaiosome, elam, elamite, elamitic, elan, eland, elapid, elapse, elara, elasmobranch, elasmosaur

Origin of eland

1780–90; < Afrikaans < Dutch eland elk (Middle Dutch elen, elant) < early modern German Elen(d), probably < Lithuanian éllenis (now élnis; akin to OCS jelenĭ stag) or an OPruss equivalent; akin to elk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for eland

You know, I don't believe Mrs. Eland could walk a plank, anyway.
The Corner House Girls in a Play|Grace Brooks Hill
And poor Mrs. Eland and Miss Pepperill, who need it so much, will never see it.
The Corner House Girls' Odd Find|Grace Brooks Hill
The eland is one of those antelopes that appear to be independent of water.
The Bush Boys|Captain Mayne Reid
Livingstone describes the eland as the most magnificent of the antelopes.
The World and Its People: Book VII|Anna B. Badlam

We wouldnt want money for giving Mrs. Eland what belongs to her, Ruth said quietly.
The Corner House Girls' Odd Find|Grace Brooks Hill

British Dictionary definitions for eland

eland

/ (ˈiːlənd) /

noun

a large spiral-horned antelope, Taurotragus oryx, inhabiting bushland in eastern and southern Africa. It has a dewlap and a hump on the shoulders and is light brown with vertical white stripes

giant eland a similar but larger animal, T. derbianus, living in wooded areas of central and W Africa

Word Origin for eland

C18: via Afrikaans from Dutch eland elk; related to Old Slavonic jeleni stag, Greek ellos fawn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for eland

eland

"large South African antelope," 1786, from Dutch eland "elk," from a Baltic source akin to Lithuanian elnias "deer," from PIE *el- "red, brown" (see elk), cognate with first element in Greek Elaphebolion, name of the ninth month of the Attic year (corresponding to late March-early April), literally "deer-hunting (month)." Borrowed earlier as ellan (1610s, via French), ellend, from the German form of the word.