wapiti

[wop-i-tee]

noun

plural

wapitis ,

plural

wapiti .

1. elk.

wapiti

/ ˈwɒpɪtɪ /

noun

1. Also called: American elk. a large deer, Cervus canadensis, with large much-branched antlers, native to North America and now also common in the South Island of New Zealand

Word History and Origins

Origin of wapiti¹

An Americanism dating back to 1805–10; from Shawnee wa·piti literally, “white rump” (equivalent to unattested Proto-Algonquian wa·p- “white” + unattested -etwiy- “rump”); introduced as an English word by U.S. physician and naturalist Benjamin S. Barton ( 1766–1815 )

Word History and Origins

Origin of wapiti¹

C19: from Shawnee, literally: white deer, from wap (unattested) white; from the animal's white tail and rump

Example Sentences

The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife officer has been Bruiser’s de facto guardian angel since shortly after the wild wapiti’s first sighting on the island, back on Sept. 13, 2012.

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The EVA team found some of the ancient DNA came from wapiti, the species of elk whose tooth was used to make it.

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But where wapiti are being fed on the National Elk Refuge, Cole pointed out, densities of animals are an order of magnitude - tenfold - greater than they are at the Colorado national park.

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Some 33 cow wapiti fitted with GPS collars in the Gros Ventre last fall, before migration, are now being tracked.

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Monitoring elk traveling along the migration route is part of a new Wyoming effort to determine if wapiti are returning to the Gros Ventre River country in summer and fall.

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