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Added 9 October 2026

elk

/ɛlk/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about elk at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in Europe and `moose' in North America.
Large North American deer with large much-branched antlers in the male.
Common deer of temperate Europe and Asia.

Origin

From 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”). See also Low German Elk, German Elch, Danish elg, Norwegian elg, Swedish älg; also Polish łoś, Russian лось (losʹ), Vedic Sanskrit ऋश्य (ṛ́śya, “antelope”); also German Elen, Tocharian A yäl, Tocharian B ylem (“gazelle”), Lithuanian élnis (“stag”), Armenian եղնիկ (eġnik, “doe, hind”). Doublet of Elhaz.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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