American elk vs elk

American elk and elk both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
American elk	Yes	No	No	No
elk	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, American elk and elk are synonyms defined as:

American elk and elk: large North American deer with large much-branched antlers in the male

Other synonyms of American elk include Cervus elaphus canadensis, wapiti.

As nouns, American elk and elk are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of American elk include Cervus elaphus, red deer, wapiti.

American elk (noun)	elk (noun)
large North American deer with large much-branched antlers in the male	large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in Europe and `moose' in North America
common deer of temperate Europe and Asia	common deer of temperate Europe and Asia
	large North American deer with large much-branched antlers in the male