deer
//dɪə//
Forms
- Plural
- deer
Definitions
1.Any animal, especially a quadrupedal mammal as opposed to a bird, fish, etc.
- But mice and rats and such small deer, have been Tom's food for seven long year.
2.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.
- I wrecked my car after a deer ran across the road.
- Deer sperm was in used among the Romans as an aphrodisiac.
- Sure, most of us hunt deer around here, but not many of us have ever hunted moose.
3.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.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3623
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
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-.