Added 4 October 2026

deer

/dɪə/ noun

In Latin: cervus, cerva Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about deer at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

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.
Such a mammal that is in the family Cervidae.
I wrecked my car after a deer ran across the road.
One of the smaller animals of the family Cervidae, distinguished from a moose or elk.
I wrecked my car after a deer ran across the road.

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-. Cognate with Scots deer (“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”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk dyr (“animal, beast”), Icelandic dýr (“animal, beast”).