cervid

noun

cer·​vid ˌˈsər-vəd 

plural cervids

: any of a family (Cervidae, the deer family) of ruminant artiodactyl mammals (such as the elk, moose, or white-tailed deer) that have solid deciduous antlers borne only by males except for the caribou in which both males and females bear antlers : deer sense 1

Antler growth in elk, as in all cervids, originates from a pedicel in the skull.

—Mark Lapinski et al.

Word History

Etymology

from stem of New Latin Cervidae, family name, from Cervus, a genus of the family (going back to Latin cervus "stag, deer") + -idae -idae — more at cervine

First Known Use

circa 1889, in the meaning defined above