A deer is a gentle, hoofed animal with slender legs, and in many species the males grow antlers on their heads.
It comes from Old English “dēor,” which originally meant “animal” or “beast” in general. Over time, the meaning narrowed in English to the specific animal we now call a deer.
The word that once meant almost any wild animal is now reserved for one graceful, shy creature. English is full of these “narrowed” words, where history leaves a faint shadow in modern meaning.
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