deer

Meaning

1. A ruminant mammal with antlers and hooves of the family Cervidae, or one of several similar animals from related families of the order Artiodactyla.
2. One of the smaller animals of this family, distinguished from a moose or elk
3. The meat of such an animal; venison.
4. (obsolete) Any animal, especially a quadrupedal mammal as opposed to a bird, fish, etc.

Concepts

deer

blacktail

antelope

stag

roe

doe

hart

fawn

buck

cervid

elk

mule deer

venison

boshe

reindeer

artiodactyl

gaselle

moose

indef.

one

a kind of deer

bug

Cervidae

sika deer

carabao

pig

Capricorn

Goat

etc.

side-hill seertle

hind

gazelle

red deer

cerf

roe deer

mountain goat

wild animal

artiodactyl mammal

even-toed ungulate

ungulate

wild buffalo

flesh

meat

kangaroo

Pronounced as (IPA)

/dɪə/

Etymology

From Middle English deere, dere, der, dier, deor (“small 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-.
Cognate with Scots dere, deir (“deer”), North Frisian dier (“animal, beast”), West Frisian dier (“animal, beast”), Dutch dier (“animal, beast”), German Low German Deer, Deert (“animal”), German Tier (“animal, beast”), Swedish djur (“animal, beast”), Norwegian dyr (“animal, beast”), Icelandic dýr (“animal, beast”), Danish dyr (“animal, beast”).
Related also to Albanian dash (“ram”) (possibly), Lithuanian daũsos (“upper air; heaven”), Lithuanian dùsti (“to sigh”), Russian душа́ (dušá, “breath, spirit”), Lithuanian dvėsti (“to breathe, exhale”), Sanskrit ध्वंसति (dhvaṃsati, “he falls to dust”).
For the semantic development compare Latin animālis (“animal”), from anima (“breath, spirit”).