eland

American  

[ee-luhnd] / ˈi lənd /

noun

plural

elands,

plural

eland

1. either of two large African antelopes of the genus Taurotragus, having long, spirally twisted horns: now rare.

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eland British  

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

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Etymology

Origin of eland

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

Example Sentences

For instance, rock art in Zimbabwe mainly depicts kudu antelopes, she says, whereas similar San sites in nearby South Africa focus on another antelope, the eland.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 27, 2024

Rock paintings, which were done with ingredients like eland blood and egg white, depict elephants, eland and other animals as well as processions of hunters and other scenes of daily life.

From New York Times • Apr. 11, 2019

I thought of the eland that Sacks had seen, as a child, emerging from the ceiling of the cave.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 18, 2019

These include buffalos, chimpanzees, forest elephants, leopards, lions and the icon of this park, the giant eland – an imposing antelope.

From The Guardian • Aug. 16, 2018

Biri, a famous rain priestess, and her two brothers had founded the eland clan.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer