alce
alce noun: an elk.
Noun (1)
alce (plural alces)
- An elk.
- Alces, brought for the nonce out of the great wooddes of Germany.1541, Elyot, Image Gov., published 1556, page 81; quoted in “† Alce”, in James A[ugustus] H[enry] Murray [et al.], editors, A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English...
- His creaſt, the beaſt Alce pꝛoper, leaning to an Oke Vert, ſet on a toꝛce de Oꝛ and Gules, mantled Sable, doubled Oꝛ, ſuppoꝛted with a Beuer argent, coloured and vnguled Sable, and an Harpie Vert, Wynged de Oꝛ. The Alce diſcribed foꝛ the creaſt of the ſaid coate Armour, is a wilde Beaſte in the...1572, Iohn Bossewell, Workes of Armorie Deuided into Three Bookes, Entituled, the Concordes of Armorie, the Armorie of Honor, and of Cotes and Creastes, […], London: […] Henrie Ballard, […]...
Noun (2)
alce (plural alces)
- A mythical beast resembling a griffin with no wings, often classified as a male griffin.
- Ar. a fesse betw. three alces’ or griffins’ heads erased sa.1842, John Burke, John Bernard Burke, A General Armory of England, Scotland, and Ireland, London: […] Edward Churton, […]
- Alce. The Male Griffin. […] Alice, or Alce. The Male Gryphon.[1889, Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry with Upwards of Two Thousand Five Hundred Illustrations, London: Kent & Cᵒ […]; East Dereham: W. H. Brown, […], page 4, column 2
- Synonyms:
- keythong
Examples of alce in a sentence
- Moreover, a certaine beaſt, called the Alce, very like to an horſe, but that his eares are longer; and his necke likewiſe with two markes, diſtinguiſh them aſunder.1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book VIII.] Of Scythian beasts, and those that are bred in the North parts.”, in...
- A beaſt in Scandinavia like to Alce, very ſwift, leaning to a tree when it ſleepeth, and beeing once fallen, cannot lift it ſelfe vp againe.1610, Thomae Thomasii Dictionarium Summa Fide ac Diligentia Accuratissime Emendatum, Magnaque Insuper Rerum Scitu Dignarum, et Vocabvlorum...
- The alces hide cannot be pierced with cutting.1617, Horn & Rob., Gate Lang. Unl., § 193, page xvii; quoted in “† Alce”, in James A[ugustus] H[enry] Murray [et al.], editors, A New...
- If you will ſee the Crocodyle, you muſt goe into Egypt; if the Oſtrich, into Barbary or Ethiopia; if the Rhinoceros, you muſt goe into India; if the Alce, vnto Polonia, &c.a. 1625, Miles Smith, Sermons of the Right Reuerend Father in God Miles Smith, Late Lord Bishop of Glocester. Transcribed out of His...
Synonyms of alce
Forms of alce
| plural | alces |
|---|
Origin of alce
Learned borrowing from Latin alcē. Doublet of Alcis, Algiz, and elk.
Possibly from Ancient Greek ἀλκή (alkḗ, “courage, prowess; guard, defense”).
Questions about alce
- What does alce mean?
- Alce means an elk.
- How do you use alce in a sentence?
- Moreover, a certaine beaſt, called the Alce, very like to an horſe, but that his eares are longer; and his necke likewiſe with two markes, diſtinguiſh them aſunder.
- What part of speech is alce?
- Alce is a noun.
- What is the plural of alce?
- The plural of alce is alces.
Words near alce in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: alce (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “alce.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/alce. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.