deer
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A deer (1) 
Two deer (1) 
A Siberian musk deer
See also: Appendix:Variations of "deer"
English
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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”).
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”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /dɪə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /dɪɹ/
Audio (US) (file) - (Scotland, some US) IPA(key): /diːɹ/
- Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)
- Homophones: dear, dir
Noun
deer (plural deer or (nonstandard) deers)
- A ruminant mammal with antlers and hooves of the family Cervidae, or one of several similar animals from related families of the order Artiodactyla.
- (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.
- The meat of such an animal; venison.
- Oh, I've never had deer before.
- (obsolete, except in the phrase "small deer") Any animal, especially a quadrupedal mammal as opposed to a bird, fish, etc.
- 1606, William Shakespeare, King Lear, act III, scene IV:
- But mice and rats and such small deer, have been Tom's food for seven long year.
Hypernyms
- (ruminant mammal): cervid
Hyponyms
Derived terms
- axis deer
- Bactrian deer
- barking deer
- Bawean deer
- black-tailed deer
- brow-antlered deer
- Calamian deer
- Chinese water deer
- cloud deer
- Corsican red deer
- deer antler knife
- Deer Creek
- deerfly
- deer fly
- deer fly fever
- deer-hair
- deer horn knife
- deer in the headlights
- deer in the headlight syndrome
- Deer Island
- deer ked
- deerlike
- Deer Lodge
- deer meat
- deer mouse
- deer-neck
- deer-pig
- deer scarer
- deer-skin
- deer stalker
- deer stalking
- deer's tongue
- deer tick
- Eld's deer
- European red deer
- fallow deer
- Formosan deer
- ghost deer
- giant deer
- Guinea deer
- hog deer
- Indian hog deer
- Indochinese hog deer
- Irish deer
- Java mouse-deer
- key deer
- kill-deer
- Maral deer
- marsh deer
- Mindanao mountain deer
- Mindoro deer
- moose deer]], mouse-deer
- mountain deer
- mouse deer
- mule deer
- musk deer
- north Andean deer
- pampas deer
- Père David's deer
- Prince Alfred's deer
- ravine deer
- red deer
- reindeer
- rib-faced deer
- roe deer
- rusa deer
- Schomburgk's deer
- sika deer
- Sitka deer
- spotted deer
- teal deer
- telemetacarpal deer
- Thorold's deer
- Tsushima Island deer
- vampire deer
- Vietnamese deer
- Virginia deer
- water deer
- western roe deer
- White Deer
- white-tailed deer
- Yarkand deer
- zombie deer disease
Descendants
- Sranan Tongo: dia
Translations
animal of the family Cervidae
| |||||||||||||||
meat from the animal — see venison
Anagrams
Dutch
Pronunciation
Verb
deer
- inflection of deren:
Hunsrik
Alternative forms
- tëyer (Wiesemann spelling system)
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle High German and Old High German ir. Compare Luxembourgish dir.
Pronoun
deer
- you (plural)
Inflection
Hunsrik personal pronouns
| nominative | accusative | dative | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proclitic | Enclitic | str. | unstr. | str. | unstr. | |
| 1st person singular | ich | -ich | mich | meer | mer | |
| 2nd person singular (informal) |
du | -du, -de | dich | deer | der | |
| 3rd person singular (m.) | er; där | -er | ihn | en | ihm | em |
| 3rd person singular (f.) | sie; die | -se | sie / ihns | se | eer | re |
| 3rd person singular (n.) | es; das | 's | es | ihm | em | |
| 1st person plural | meer | mer | uns | |||
| 2nd person plural | deer | der | eich | |||
| 3rd person plural | sie; die | -se | sie | se | denne | |
Etymology 2
Pronoun
deer
- stressed dative of du.
Inflection
Hunsrik personal pronouns
| nominative | accusative | dative | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proclitic | Enclitic | str. | unstr. | str. | unstr. | |
| 1st person singular | ich | -ich | mich | meer | mer | |
| 2nd person singular (informal) |
du | -du, -de | dich | deer | der | |
| 3rd person singular (m.) | er; där | -er | ihn | en | ihm | em |
| 3rd person singular (f.) | sie; die | -se | sie / ihns | se | eer | re |
| 3rd person singular (n.) | es; das | 's | es | ihm | em | |
| 1st person plural | meer | mer | uns | |||
| 2nd person plural | deer | der | eich | |||
| 3rd person plural | sie; die | -se | sie | se | denne | |
Further reading
Limburgish
Alternative forms
- dier (some dialects, Maastrichtian)
- deier (Sittard)
- deër (Southeast Limburgish)
Etymology
From Middle Dutch dier, from Old Dutch dier, from Proto-Germanic *deuzą.
Pronunciation
Noun
deer n
Synonyms
Nawdm
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
deer (plural deera)
References
Saterland Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian dēr, thēr, from Proto-West Germanic *þār. More at there.
Adverb
deer