from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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]71.]
1. Any animal; especially, a wild animal. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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Mice and rats, and such small deer. --Shak.
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The camel, that great deer. --Lindisfarne
MS.
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2. (Zool.) 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}.
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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}.
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Note: Deer is much used adjectively, or as the first part of
a compound; as, deerkiller, deerslayer, deerslaying,
deer hunting, deer stealing, deerlike, etc.
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{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.
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from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
33 Moby Thesaurus words for "deer":
Cape elk, Virginia deer, antelope, buck, camel, camelopard,
caribou, deerlet, doe, dromedary, eland, elk, fallow deer, fawn,
gazelle, giraffe, gnu, hart, hartebeest, hind, kaama, moose,
mule deer, musk deer, okapi, red deer, reindeer, roe, roe deer,
roebuck, springbok, stag, wildebeest