Elk or elke?
elk is a noun meaning “Any of the subspecies of the moose (Alces alces, the largest member of the deer…”; elke is a noun meaning “The European wild, whistling, or common swan (Cygnus cygnus, syn. Cygnus ferus)”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) elk is about 19 times as common as elke.
What is the difference between elk and elke?
| elk | elke | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun |
| Meaning | CommonwealthAny of the subspecies of the moose (Alces alces, the largest member of the deer family, alternatively named Eurasian elk to avoid confusion with the wapiti)… CanadaUSCommon wapiti (Cervus canadensis), the second largest member of the deer family, once thought to be a subspecies of red deer A member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, an American fraternal order | |
| Example | none recorded | none recorded |
| Forms | elks | elkes |
| Pronunciation | /ɛlk/ | not recorded |
| In writing | 3.1 times per million words | about once in every 6 million words |
Sources: elk and elke in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of elk and elke
elk
- 1
CommonwealthAny of the subspecies of the moose (Alces alces, the largest member of the deer family, alternatively named Eurasian elk to avoid confusion with the wapiti), that occurs only in Europe and Asia
- 2
A member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, an American fraternal order
- 3
informalAn Acorn Electron computer
- 4
CanadaUSCommon wapiti (Cervus canadensis), the second largest member of the deer family, once thought to be a subspecies of red deer
- 5
BritishIndiaSambar (Cervus unicolor)
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, elk or elke?
elk appears 3.1 times per million words; elke about once in every 6 million words.
elk 3.1 times per million wordselke about once in every 6 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).