eland

[ ee-luhnd ]

noun,plural e·lands, (especially collectively) e·land.
  1. either of two large African antelopes of the genus Taurotragus, having long, spirally twisted horns: now rare.

Origin of eland

1
First recorded in 1780–90; from Afrikaans, from Dutch eland “elk” (Middle Dutch elen, elant ), from early modern German Elen(d), probably from Lithuanian éllenis (now élnis; akin to Old Church Slavonic jelenĭ “stag”) or an Old Prussian equivalent; akin to elk

Words Nearby eland

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use eland in a sentence

  • Some animals, like the rhino and the eland, have tick birds that sit upon their backs and eat the ticks.

    In Africa | John T. McCutcheon
  • So on swept the chase, the eland leading, the quaggas after, and Hendrik bringing up the rear.

  • After dining sumptuously on eland tongue and hartebeest tenderloin Burt pushed back his canvas chair with a sigh of content.

    The Blind Lion of the Congo | Elliott Whitney
  • Suddenly an eland dashed out from a clump of bushes barely a hundred yards off, not having heard their approach.

    The Rogue Elephant | Elliott Whitney
  • Jack fired, missed, fired again, and the eland gave one high spring and rolled heels over head.

    The Rogue Elephant | Elliott Whitney

British Dictionary definitions for eland

eland

/ (ˈiːlənd) /


noun
  1. a large spiral-horned antelope, Taurotragus oryx, inhabiting bushland in eastern and southern Africa. It has a dewlap and a hump on the shoulders and is light brown with vertical white stripes

  2. giant eland a similar but larger animal, T. derbianus, living in wooded areas of central and W Africa

Origin of eland

1
C18: via Afrikaans from Dutch eland elk; related to Old Slavonic jeleni stag, Greek ellos fawn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012