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Webster 1913 Edition

Deer

Deer

(dēr)
,
Noun.
s
ing.
&
pl.
[OE.
der
,
deor
, animal, wild animal, AS.
deór
; akin to D.
dier
, OFries.
diar
, G.
thier
,
tier
, Icel.
dȳr
, Dan.
dyr
, Sw.
djur
, Goth.
dius
; of unknown origin. √71.]
1.
Any animal; especially, a wild animal.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
Mice and rats, and such small
deer
.
Shakespeare
The camel, that great
deer
.
Lindisfarne MS.
2.
(Zool.)
A ruminant of the genus
Cervus
, of many species, and of related genera of the family
Cervidæ
. The males, and in some species the females, have solid antlers, often much branched, which are shed annually. Their flesh, for which they are hunted, is called
venison
.
☞ The deer hunted in England is
Cervus elaphus
, called also stag or
red deer
; the fallow deer is
Cervus dama
; the common American deer is
Cervus Virginianus
; the blacktailed deer of Western North America is
Cervus Columbianus
; and the mule deer of the same region is
Cervus macrotis
. See
Axis
,
Fallow deer
,
Mule deer
,
Reindeer
.
☞
Deer
is much used adjectively, or as the first part of a compound;
as,
deer
killer,
deer
slayer,
deer
slaying,
deer
hunting,
deer
stealing,
deer
like, etc.
Deer mouse
(Zool.)
,
the white-footed mouse (
Peromyscus leucopus
, formerly
Hesperomys leucopus
) of America.
–
Small deer
,
petty game, not worth pursuing; – used metaphorically. (See citation from Shakespeare under the first definition, above.)
“Minor critics . . . can find leisure for the chase of such small deer.”
G. P. Marsh.

Webster 1828 Edition

Deer

DEER

,
Noun.
Sing. And plu. [Gr. A wild beast. The primary sense is simply roving, wild, untamed; hence, a wild beast.] A quadruped of the genus Cervus, of several species, as the stag, the fallow deer, the roe-buck, the rane or rane-deer, &c. These animals are wild and hunted in the forest, or kept in parks. Their flesh called venison, is deemed excellent food.

Definition 2025

Deer

Deer

See also: deer

German Low German

Noun

Deer n (plural Deren)

  1. Alternative form of Deert

deer

deer

See also: Deer

English

A deer (1)

Noun

deer ‎(plural deer or (nonstandard) deers)

  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. (in particular) One of the smaller animals of this family, distinguished from a moose or elk.
    I wrecked my car after a deer ran across the road.
  3. The meat of such an animal; venison.
    Oh, I've never had deer before.
  4. (obsolete, chiefly in the phrase "small deer") An animal, especially a quadrupedal mammal, as opposed to a bird, fish, etc.
    • 1606 : William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act III. IV
      But mice and rats and such small deer, have been Tom's food for seven long year.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -eːr

Verb

deer

  1. first-person singular present indicative of deren
  2. imperative of deren

Limburgish

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *deuzą, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeusóm. Cognate with English deer (Old English dēor), Dutch dier, German Tier, Swedish djur; and with Lithuanian dvēsti, Russian душа́ ‎(dušá).

Noun

deer n

  1. pet
  2. (obsolete) beast, animal

Inflection

Inflection
Root singular Root plural Diminutive singular Diminutive plural
Nominative deer deer deerke deerkes
Genitive deers deer deerkes deerkes
Locative daer daer daerke daerkes
Dative* daerem daerer ? ?
Accusative* deer ? deerke deerkes
  • The dative and accusative are obsolete nowadays; use the nominative instead.

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian dēr, thēr, from Proto-Germanic *þar. More at there.

Adverb

deer

  1. there

Etymology

From Middle English deere, dere, der, dier, deor ‎(“small animal, deer”), from Old English dēor, dīor ‎(“an animal, beast, any sort of wild animal, wild beast; deer, reindeer”), from Proto-Germanic *deuzą ‎(“animal”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewsóm ‎(“living thing”), from *dʰéws ‎(“breath”), full-grade derivative of *dʰwés-. 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”), Icelandic dýr ‎(“animal, beast”). Related also to Albanian dash ‎(“ram”), Lithuanian daũsos ‎(“upper air; heaven”), Lithuanian dùsti ‎(“to sigh”), Russian душа́ ‎(dušá, “breath, spirit”), Lithuanian dvėsti ‎(“to breath, exhale”), Sanskrit ध्वंसति ‎(dhvaṃsati, “he falls to dust”). For semantic development compare Latin animalis ‎(“animal”), from anima ‎(“breath, spirit”).

Pronunciation

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