elk
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛlk/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛlk
Etymology 1
From Middle English elk, from Old English eolc, eolh (“elk”), from Proto-Germanic *elhaz, *algiz (“elk”) (compare Low German Elk, German Elch, Norwegian elg, Swedish älg), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁élḱis, *h₁ólḱis (compare Polish łoś, Russian лось (losʹ), Vedic Sanskrit ऋश्य (ṛ́śya, “antelope”), variant of *h₁elh₁én (compare German Elen, Tocharian A yäl, Tocharian B ylem (“gazelle”), Lithuanian élnis (“stag”), Armenian եղնիկ (ełnik, “doe, hind”)), from *h₁el- (“deer”).
Noun
elk (plural elk or elks)
- Any of various large species of deer such as the red deer, moose or wapiti (see usage notes).
- Any of the subspecies of the moose (Alces alces alces, alternatively named Eurasian elk to avoid confusion with the wapiti), that occurs only in Europe and Asia.
- (chiefly Europe, Commonwealth) Any moose (Alces alces), the largest member of the deer family.
- (Canada, US) common wapiti (Cervus canadensis), the second largest member of the deer family, once thought to be a subspecies of red deer.
- (British India) Sambar (Cervus unicolor).
- 1813, James Forbes, Oriental Memoirs (page 281)
- In a narrow defile […] a male elk, (cervus alces, Lin.) of noble appearance, followed by twenty-two females, passed majestically under their platform, each as large as a common-sized horse.
- 1813, James Forbes, Oriental Memoirs (page 281)
Usage notes
Elk originally referred to the moose. The wapiti was named elk by European explorers in North America, who thought it resembled the moose.
The word elk is now commonly used in the same way as the word caribou is used for the subspecies of the reindeer. The only difference here is that it refers only to a single subspecies, while caribou refers to several subspecies of the reindeer.
Synonyms
- (Cervus canadensis): wapiti
- (Alces alces): moose
Derived terms
- Cape elk
- Elk County
- Elk Point
- Elk River
- elk test
- Elkton
- Irish elk
- Nelson's elk
- Roosevelt elk
Descendants
- → Korean: 엘크 (elkeu)
Translations
Noun
elk (plural elks)
- (obsolete) Alternative form of elke (the common swan (Cygnus cygnus, syn. Cygnus ferus))
References
- elk at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams
- Kel, Lek, lek
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch elk.
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Pronoun
elk
- (rather rare, literary) everyone; everybody
Synonyms
- elkeen, almal
- ieder; iedereen
Determiner
elk
- (in expressions only) Alternative form of elke (“every”)
- in elk geval — “in every (i.e. any) case”
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch elc. Compare English each, West Frisian elk, from Proto-Germanic *aiwô (“ever, always”) + *ga- + Proto-Germanic *hwilīkaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛlk/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: elk
- Rhymes: -ɛlk
Determiner
elk
- each; every
Usage notes
- The Dutch determiners elk and ieder are entirely interchangeable. They do not exhibit the slight distinction that is usually made between English each and every.[1]
Inflection
Inflection of elk | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
uninflected | elk | |||
inflected | elke | |||
comparative | — | |||
positive | ||||
predicative/adverbial | elk | |||
indefinite | m./f. sing. | elke | ||
n. sing. | elk | |||
plural | elke | |||
definite | elke | |||
partitive |
Synonyms
- al (alle)
- ieder
Descendants
- Afrikaans: elk
- Negerhollands: elk
Pronoun
elk
- (chiefly in expressions) everyone; everybody
- Melk is goed voor elk.
- Milk is good for everyone.
- Elk op zijn beurt.
- One at a time. (Literally: Everybody at their turn.)
- Melk is goed voor elk.
References
- http://taaladvies.net/taal/advies/vraag/253/elk_ieder/
Anagrams
- lek
Low German
Etymology
Compare Dutch elk, English each.
Pronoun
elk
- (in the singular) each, every
- (in the plural) some, many
Declension
gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
nominative | elk | elk(e) | elk | elk(e) | |
oblique | elken | elk(e) | elk | elk(e) |
See also
- jede
- männich
- veel
- enige
- elker
- Elkeener
Middle English
Alternative forms
- elke
Etymology
Apparently from Old English eolh, though it is not found before 1475 and the phonetic development is unexpected, though compare dialectal English fleck (“flea”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛlk/
Noun
elk
- (Late Middle English, rare) elk, moose (Alces alces)
Descendants
- English: elk
References
- “elk, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.