deer

 
Pronunciation: /dɪə/

noun (plural )

  • a hoofed grazing or browsing animal, with branched bony antlers that are shed annually and typically borne only by the male.
    • Family Cervidae: several genera and many species

Origin:

Old English dēor, also originally denoting any quadruped, used in the (now archaic) phrase small deer meaning 'small creatures collectively'; of Germanic origin; related to Dutch dier, German Tier