: 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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While there are over 400 varieties of Berberis vulgaris, Vater says ‘Orange Rocket’ Barberry is prized for its resistance to disease, pests, and deer.—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 1 July 2025 The river had shallows, marshes, sandbars, oxbows, eddies, weed flats and drop offs, all of which created nurseries, hiding spots and ambush points for a food chain that included aquatic bugs, frogs, fish, turtles, alligators, deer, otters, panthers and eagles.—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 29 June 2025 Explored via elevated walkways, the woodsy preserve shelters other endemic species like sambar deer, blue sheep, muntjac and golden pheasant.—Joe Yogerst, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025 Wolves are removing elk, deer, and moose infected with chronic wasting disease — present in 37 states and 3 provinces.—Jim Martin, Denver Post, 27 June 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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