Dictionary:

wapiti

  (wŏp'ĭ-tē)

A large light brown or grayish-brown North American deer (Cervus canadensis) having long, branching antlers. Also called American elk, elk.

[Shawnee waapiti.]

The elk and its ilk are easy to confuse. What we call elk in North America is different from what our language calls elk in Europe, which is the same as the North American moose. Confusing? That is how wapiti came to be an English word, to distinguish the American elk from the quite different European one. Naturalist Benjamin S. Barton did the honors in 1806: "As the [American] Elk has not to my knowledge been described by any systematic writer on Zoology, I have assumed the liberty of giving it a specific name. I have called it Wapiti, which is the name by which it is known among the Shawnees or Shawnese Indians."

The name wapiti also has the advantage of being plain and descriptive, at least in its native language. In Shawnee, wapiti is said to mean "white rump," a distinguishing feature of the American elk. The Indian name is also a reminder that the vast herds of these animals that formerly populated North America were important renewable resources for the Indian inhabitants. Wapiti were hunted not only for their meat but for their hides, their bones, their antlers, and even their teeth. The hides made moccasins, robes, shields, and the walls of tepees. Bones and antlers made weapons and game pieces. Wapiti teeth made necklaces and decorations for clothes.

In later times, with destruction of their habitat and intensive hunting, wapiti were driven nearly to extinction by the English-speaking population of North America. But conservation laws and regulated hunting have made them abundant again. Elk (or wapiti) farming is also increasing the population.

Aside from the products already mentioned, wapiti are a source of velvet, the soft tissue of new antlers of adult males. According to a company that sells it, "Velvet antler has been used for centuries in strengthening the skeletal, circulatory and endocrine systems. Velvet antler has been shown to increase mental capacity, help PMS, impotence, and stress reduction."

Shawnee is another of the languages in the Algonquian-Ritwan family, belonging to the central branch. In Oklahoma there are still about two hundred speakers of Shawnee. Wapiti is the one Shawnee word that has found itself a place in English.

(click to enlarge)
Male wapiti (Cervus canadensis). (credit: Alan Carey)

Species (Cervus canadensis) of North American deer, often considered the same species as the red deer. Once common, the wapiti is now confined to the Rocky Mountains and southern Canada. It is the second-largest living deer species (the moose is first). Males may stand taller than 5 ft (1.5 m) at the shoulder and weigh up to 1,100 lbs (500 kg). The coat is brown, pale on the rump, and long and shaggy on the shoulders and neck. The male's five-tined antlers tower almost 4 ft (1.2 m) above his head. Wapiti live in large bands in winter and in small groups in summer. See also elk.

For more information on wapiti, visit Britannica.com.

Large deer from North America. Called also American elk, Cervus canadensis.

Tutor's tip: This word was used in the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee finals.