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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Irish elk

Irish \I"rish\, a. [AS. [imac]risc, fr. [imac]ras the Irish. Cf. Aryan, Erse.] Of or pertaining to Ireland or to its inhabitants; produced in Ireland. Irish elk. (Zo["o]l.) See under Elk. Irish moss.

  1. (Bot.) Carrageen.

  2. A preparation of the same made into a blanc mange.

    Irish poplin. See Poplin.

    Irish potato, the ordinary white potato, so called because it is a favorite article of food in Ireland.

    Irish reef, or Irishman's reef (Naut.), the head of a sail tied up.

    Irish stew, meat, potatoes, and onions, cut in small pieces and stewed.

Irish elk

elk \elk\ ([e^]lk), n. [Icel. elgr; akin to Sw. elg, AS. eolh, OHG. elaho, MHG. elch, cf. L. alces; perh. akin to E. eland.] (Zo["o]l.) A large deer, of several species. The European elk Alces alces (formerly Alces machlis or Cervus alces) is closely allied to the American moose. The American elk, or wapiti ( Cervus Canadensis) the largest member of the deer family, has large, spreading antlers and is closely related to the European stag. See Moose, and Wapiti.

Irish elk (Paleon.), a large, extinct, Quaternary deer ( Cervus giganteus) with widely spreading antlers. Its remains have been found beneath the peat of swamps in Ireland and England. See Illustration in Appendix; also Illustration of Antler.

Cape elk (Zo["o]l.), the eland.

Wikipedia
Irish elk

The Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus) or Irish giant deer, is an extinct species of deer in the genus Megaloceros and is one of the largest deer that ever lived. Its range extended across Eurasia, from Ireland to northern Asia and Africa. A related form is recorded from China during the Late Pleistocene. The most recent remains of the species have been carbon dated to about 7,700 years ago in Siberia. Although most skeletons have been found in bogs in Ireland, the animal was not exclusive to Ireland and was not closely related to either of the living species currently called elk - Alces alces (the European elk, known in North America as the moose) or Cervus canadensis (the North American elk or wapiti). For this reason, the name "Giant deer" is used in some publications, instead of "Irish elk". A study has suggested that the Irish elk was closely related to the Red deer ( Cervus elaphus). However, other phylogenetic analyses support the idea of a sister-group relationship between fallow deer ( Dama dama) and the Irish elk.

Usage examples of "irish elk".

And we stopped killing Irish elk, and the big cats that used to populate North America, and woolly rhinoceroses, and all the others, because there were none left to kill.

The hairy mammoth, woolly-haired rhinoceros, the Irish elk, the musk-ox, the reindeer, the glutton, the lemming, etc.

The 'Cervus Americanus' found in Kentucky was as large as the Irish elk, which it greatly resembled.

But not just any wolfone of the enormous Irish wolves, killed off long ago, but which had, in their time, decimated the herds of Irish elk.

But not just any wolf-one of the enormous Irish wolves, killed off long ago, but which had, in their time, decimated the herds of Irish elk.