Elk
/ɛlk/noun
A very large deer of northern North America and eastern Asia, with broad antlers in the males.
Did you know?English *elk* comes from a Proto-Germanic word for the moose, and the modern North American meaning shifted after English speakers in America applied the name to a different massive deer they encountered.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂elḱ-
“to be strong or powerful; possibly the source of words for elk/moose in Germanic and Baltic branches”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*elhaz
“elk, moose”
Old English
OE
eolh
“elk, moose”
Old High German
OHG
elaho
“elk, moose”
Middle English
ME
elk
“elk, moose”
Modern English
English
elk
“a large deer; in North America, the wapiti”