doe
adv1
Internet, Multicultural London English, Pronunciation spelling Pronunciation spelling of though.
African-American Vernacular
doe
nounUK /dəʊ/ · US /doʊ/
Etymology From Middle English do (“(female) fallow deer”), from Old English dā, from Proto-West Germanic *daihā (“female deer, mother deer”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck (milk), to suckle”). Cognate with Middle Scots da, dae (“female fallow deer”), Danish då (“fallow deer”), Sanskrit धेनु (dhenú, “cow, milk-cow”), Old English dēon (“to suckle”), Old English delu (“teat”). Related also to female, filial, fetus.
1
A female deer; also used of similar animals such as antelope (less commonly a goat, as nanny is also used).
- A doe from round a spruce stood looking at them Across the wall, as near the wall as they. She saw them in their field, they her in hers.1923 October, Robert Frost, “[Grace Notes.] Two Look at Two.”, in New Hampshire […], New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 95:
- The city recently carried out a deer census, determining there are 313 stags (males), 798 does (females) and 214 fawns (babies) in Nara Park.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:
2
Specifically A female fallow deer.
3
A female rabbit or hare.
4
A female squirrel.
5
A female kangaroo.
- Synonyms
- hind, blue flyer