elk
- Also called European elk. the moose, Alces alces.
- Also called American elk, wapiti. a large North American deer, Cervus canadensis, the male of which has large, spreading antlers.
- a pliable leather used for sport shoes, made originally of elk hide but now of calfskin or cowhide tanned and smoked to resemble elk hide.
- (initial capital letter) a member of a fraternal organization (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks) that supports or contributes to various charitable causes.
Origin of elk
Examples from the Web for elk
Contemporary Examples
And, from the south, chronic wasting disease is poised to decimate the elk herds.
This means a decline in habitat quality for grazers like bison and elk, whose winter-killed carcasses grizzlies feed upon.
Any elk habitat expert, modern hunters as well as biologists, might take a stab at the time required for elk to make that journey.
Either the child was buried at the same time the elk antler tools were made or 400 years later.
That would have meant a fully re-vegetated (that is, lush with elk food) ice-free corridor.
Historical Examples
The elk raised his proud, antlered head and looked in my direction.
A Woman TenderfootGrace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
It was now the season when the Elk were bugling on the mountains.
The Biography of a GrizzlyErnest Seton-Thompson
He obeyed their directions, and forthwith found himself to be an elk.
The Indian Fairy BookCornelius Mathews
I did not act in a foolish or disorderly manner at all, but Tennessee and Elk River were in me.
MemoirsCharles Godfrey Leland
When Elk saw the earth, he was so joyous, he rolled over and over on the earth.
elk
- a large deer, Alces alces, of N Europe and Asia, having large flattened palmate antlers: also occurs in North America, where it is called a moose
- American elk another name for wapiti
- a stout pliable waterproof leather made from calfskin or horsehide
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for elk
n.
late Old English, from Old Norse elgr or from an alteration of Old English elh, eolh (perhaps via French scribes), or possibly from Middle High German elch (OED's suggestion), all from Proto-Germanic *elkh- (cf. Old High German elaho),
The Germanic words are related to the general word for "deer" in Balto-Slavic (cf. Russian losu, Czech los; also cf. eland), from PIE *olki-, perhaps with reference to the reddish color from root *el- (2) "red, brown" (in animal and tree names); cf. Sanskrit harina- "deer," from hari- "reddish-brown." Greek alke and Latin alces probably are Germanic loan-words. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks founded N.Y.C. 1868, originally a society of actors and writers.