: any of various slender-legged, even-toed, ruminant mammals (family Cervidae, the deer family) having usually brownish fur and deciduous antlers borne by the males of nearly all and by the females only of the caribou : cervid
The meaning of a word often develops from the general to the specific. For instance, deer is used in modern English to mean several related forms of an animal species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. The Old English deor, however, could refer to any animal, tame or wild, or to wild animals in general. In time, deer came to be used only for wild animals that were hunted, and then for the red deer, once widely hunted in England. From that usage the term has spread to related animals, becoming somewhat more general again.
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Piebald deer and elk have also been seen in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Oregon and beyond.—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2025 In fact, there’s plenty of wildlife to observe: deer, foxes, flying squirrels, turkeys, and even a resident owl named Betty.—Kimberley Mok, Travel + Leisure, 9 May 2025 Female screwworm flies lay eggs in wounds or body openings of mammals, including cows, deer, birds, pets, and even humans, that can lead to a sometimes fatal infection.—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 9 May 2025 Before dawn on April 19 Daniel Maness and his good friend Chris Morris were owl-hooting on a hunt club where Maness had seen turkeys during deer season.—Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 7 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for deer
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, deer, animal, from Old English dēor beast; akin to Old High German tior wild animal, Lithuanian dvasia breath, spirit
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of deer was
before the 12th century
: any of a family of cloven-hoofed cud-chewing mammals (as an elk, a caribou, or a white-tailed deer) of which the males of almost all species have antlers while the females of only a few species do
Etymology
Old English dēor "wild animal, beast"
Word Origin
The meaning of a word often develops from the general to the specific. For instance, deer is used in modern English to mean several related forms, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. The Old English dēor, however, could refer to any animal, tame or wild, or to wild animals in general. In time, deer came to be used only for wild animals that were hunted and then for the red deer, once widely hunted in England. From that usage the term has spread to related animals, becoming somewhat more general again.
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