[a. Du. eland elk.
The Du. word is a. Ger. elend (elentier), believed to be ad. Lith. élnis elk. See ELLAN, ELLEND, which are earlier adoptions of the word from sources other than Du.]
The largest member (Boselaphus Oreas) of the Antelope tribe, belonging to S. Africa, standing five feet high at the shoulders, of a heavy build, for the most part very fat, and much prized for its flesh. Also attrib.
1786. trans. Sparrman’s Voy. Cape G. Hope, II. 204. Eland … is a name given by the colonists to a species of gazel.
1834. Penny Cycl., II. 89/1. Elands … are now rarely met with except in the most distant and retired parts of the colony [Cape Colony].
1857. Livingstone, Trav., ii. 43. The eland … would grace the parks of our nobility more than deer. Ibid. (1866), Jrnl., ix. (1873), I. 227. A piece of eland meat.
