wapiti

noun

wa·​pi·​ti ˈwä-pə-tē 

plural wapiti or wapitis

: elk sense 1a

Before the East was logged, tamed and farmed … it, too, was the home of a creature the color of wheat that the Shawnee called wapiti, and which the European settlers named elk.

—Scott Weidensaul

A bear was an occasional amusement; a wapiti was a constant necessity; but the only wild animal dangerous to man was a rattlesnake or a skunk.

—Henry Adams

Examples of wapiti in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Increasing pressure on elk herds has left bulls better educated than the typical wapiti of two decades ago. —The Editors, Field & Stream, 11 Aug. 2020

Besides wapiti and trout, bears, antelope, deer and bighorn sheep share this rugged country with elevation variations ranging from 8,000 to 14,000 feet, depending on where your boots take you. —Joseph Albanese, Outdoor Life, 9 Mar. 2020

Shooting elk was only one of the practices used to stop the wapiti from eating crops. —Joe Genzel, Outdoor Life, 10 Feb. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Shawnee wa·piti, literally, white rump

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

wapiti

noun

wa·​pi·​ti ˈwäp-ət-ē 

plural wapiti or wapitis

: elk sense 2