alce

noun

1. (obsolete)An elk.

   “Alces, brought for the nonce out of the great wooddes of Germany.”

   “Maclis, Plin. 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.”

2. (rare)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.”

   “Alce. The Male Griffin. […] Alice, or Alce. The Male Gryphon.”

   “XV. CHARGES taken from MONSTERS. Monsters with Wings. Griffin. Dragon. Alce. Opinicus. […] Alce. See Griffin. […] The term Alce is given, as if used by writers for a kind of griffin, but no example can be quoted.”

   “[…] griffin seems to have an existence in theory only; nevertheless he must be catalogued, together with the word alce, which is accepted (though not without dissent) as the individual name for the horned griffin.”

   “Infrequently, a griffin is portrayed without wings; in 15th-century and later heraldry such a beast may be called an ‘alce’ or a ‘keythong.’”