deer
nounAU, UK /dɪə/ · US /dɪɹ/
Etymology
From Middle English der, deer (“animal, deer”), from Old English dēor (“animal”), from Proto-West Germanic *deuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *deuzą, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewsóm (“living thing”), from *dʰéws (“breath”), full-grade derivative of *dʰwes-. Cognate with Scots deer (“deer”), North Frisian dier (“animal, beast”), West Frisian dier (“animal, beast”), Dutch dier (“animal, beast”), German Low German Deer, Deert (“animal”), German Tier (“animal, beast”), Swedish djur (“animal, beast”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk dyr (“animal, beast”), Icelandic dýr (“animal, beast”). Related also to Albanian dash (“ram”) (possibly), Lithuanian daũsos (“upper air; heaven”), Lithuanian dùsti (“to sigh”), Russian душа́ (dušá, “breath, spirit”), Lithuanian dvė̃sti (“to breathe, exhale”), Sanskrit ध्वंसति (dhvaṃsati, “he falls to dust”). For the semantic development compare Latin animālis (“animal”), from anima (“breath, spirit”).
A ruminant mammal with hooves and often antlers, of the family Cervidae, or one of several similar animals from related families of the order Artiodactyla, such as the musk deer or mouse deer.
- Deer sperm was in used among the Romans as an aphrodisiac.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 227:
- Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus) The musk deer is unique in several ways, reflecting its taxonomic separation from other deer (Flerov, 1952). For example , they are the only deer to possess a gall bladder[…]2012 December 2, Richard J. Goss, Deer Antlers: Regeneration, Function and Evolution, Academic Press, →ISBN, page 25:
1 more example
- The Java deer Cervus timorensis is now widespread […] This deer has become rather uncommon as the lowlands have been converted to rice and sugarcane, and the hills to coffee and other crops, while the smaller muntjac deer Muntiacus muntjak has persisted in many areas where there is some forest cover. The third and smallest deer on Java and Bali is the mouse deer Tragulus javanicus.2013 February 5, Anthony J. Whitten, Roehayat Emon Soeriaatmadja, Ecology of Java & Bali, Tuttle Publishing, →ISBN:
In particular Such a mammal that is in the family Cervidae.
- Nara and its deer are so closely associated that the light-brown colored animals are pictured in the city’s tourism ads, on buses, train tickets and more.2024 July 23, Lilit Marcus, “Japan may be sick of mass tourism. But the deer in this ancient UNESCO-listed city love it”, in CNN, archived from the original on 29 Aug 2024:
› A ruminant mammal with hooves and often… › Such a mammal that is in the family Cervidae.
In particular One of the smaller animals of the family Cervidae, distinguished from a moose or elk.
- I wrecked my car after a deer ran across the road.
- Sure, most of us hunt deer around here, but not many of us have ever hunted moose.
1 more example
- In the space beyond that, Rose saw a deer, with abbreviated velvet antlers and a cautious yet somehow also bored mien, considering her through dark, strangely human eyes.2020, Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind, Bloomsbury (2023), page 76:
The meat of such an animal, obtained through the process of hunting or from specialized deer farms; venison.
- I'd never had deer before I ate dinner with the Johanssens. In time I learned to like it; its gaminess is an acquired taste.
Any animal, especially a quadrupedal mammal as opposed to a bird, fish, etc.
Otherwise obsolete or archaic
- But mice and rats and such small deer, have been Tom's food for seven long year.1606, William Shakespeare, King Lear, act III, scene IV:
- Derived terms
126 terms
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