What is "deer"

Deer \Deer\ (d[=e]r), n. sing. & pl. [OE. der, deor, animal, wild animal, AS. de['o]r; akin to D. dier, OFries. diar, G. thier, tier, Icel. d[=y]r, Dan. dyr, Sw. djur, Goth. dius; of unknown origin. [root]7

1. ] 1. Any animal; especially, a wild animal. [Obs.]
   --Chaucer.

   Mice and rats, and such small deer.
   --Shak.

   The camel, that great deer.
   --Lindisfarne MS.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A ruminant of the genus Cervus, of many species, and of related genera of the family Cervid[ae]. 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.

   Note: 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.

   Note: Deer is much used adjectively, or as the first part of a compound; as, deerkiller, deerslayer, deerslaying, deer hunting, deer stealing, deerlike, etc.

   Deer mouse (Zo["o]l.), 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.

Old English deor "animal, beast," from Proto-Germanic *deuzam, the general Germanic word for "animal" (as opposed to man), but often restricted to "wild animal" (cognates: Old Frisian diar, Dutch dier, Old Norse dyr, Old High German tior, German Tier "animal," Gothic dius "wild animal," also see reindeer), from PIE *dheusom "creature that breathes," from root *dheu- (1) "cloud, breath" (cognates: Lithuanian dusti "gasp," dvesti "gasp, perish;" Old Church Slavonic dychati "breathe").\n

\nFor prehistoric sense development, compare Latin animal from anima "breath"). Sense specialization to a specific animal began in Old English (usual Old English for what we now call a deer was heorot; see hart), common by 15c., now complete. Probably via hunting, deer being the favorite animal of the chase (compare Sanskrit mrga- "wild animal," used especially for "deer"). Deer-lick is first attested 1778, in an American context.

n. 1 A ruminant mammal with antlers and hoof of the family ''Cervidae'', or one of several similar animals from related families of the order ''Artiodactyla''. 2 (lb en in particular) One of the smaller animals of this family, distinguished from a ''moose'' or ''elk''. 3 The meat of such an animal; venison. 4 (context obsolete especially in the phrase "small deer" English) A beast, especially a quadruped and especially a mammal, as opposed to a bird, fish, etc.

n. distinguished from Bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers [syn: cervid]

Deer (singular and plural) are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the fallow deer and the chital, and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer (caribou), the Western roe deer, and the Eurasian elk (moose). Female reindeer, and male deer of all species (except the Chinese water deer), grow and shed new antlers each year. In this they differ from permanently horned antelope, which are in the same order, Artiodactyla.

The musk deer of Asia and water chevrotain (or mouse deer) of tropical African and Asian forests are not usually regarded as true deer and form their own families: Moschidae and Tragulidae, respectively.

Deer appear in art from Palaeolithic cave paintings onwards, and they have played a role in mythology, religion, and literature throughout history, as well as in heraldry. Their economic importance includes the use of their meat as venison, their skins as soft, strong buckskin, and their antlers as handles for knives. Deer hunting has been a popular sport since at least the Middle Ages, and remains an important business today.

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Deer may also refer to:

Deer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Ada Deer (born 1935), Native American leader
• Brian Deer (21st century), British investigative reporter
• Gary Mule Deer (21st century), American comedian
• Gene Deer (21st century), American blues guitarist
• George Deer (1890-1974), British politician
• James Young Deer (died 1946), Native American film actor
• Rob Deer (born 1960), American baseball player
• Laurence Deer (born 1990), English digital marketing pioneer

Deer is a Native American given name. Notable people with the name include:

• Dick Deer Slayer (20th century), Native American football player
• Susan Deer Cloud (born 1950), Native American writer