rut2

 
Pronunciation: /rʌt/

noun

  • an annual period of sexual activity in deer and some other mammals, during which the males fight each other for access to the females: a moose in rut

verb (ruts, rutted, rutting)

[no object] (often as adjective rutting)
  • (of a deer or other mammal) engage in the rut: a rutting stag

Derivatives

ruttish

adjective

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin rugitus, from rugire 'to roar'