The male red deer is a stag, while for other large species the male is a bull, the female a cow, as in cattle. įor many types of deer in modern English usage, the male is a buck and the female a doe, but the terms vary with dialect, and according to the size of the species. All modern Germanic languages save English and Scots retain the more general sense: for example, Dutch/ Frisian dier, German Tier, and Norwegian dyr mean animal. This general sense gave way to the modern English sense by the end of the Middle English period, around 1500. Cognates of Old English dēor in other dead Germanic languages have the general sense of animal, such as Old High German tior, Old Norse djur or dȳr, Gothic dius, Old Saxon dier, and Old Frisian diar. Old English dēor and Middle English der meant a wild animal of any kind. The word deer was originally broad in meaning, becoming more specific with time. Deer hunting has been a popular activity since the Middle Ages and remains a resource for many families today.Įtymology and terminology 'The Stag Hunt of Frederick III, Elector of Saxony' by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1529 Their economic importance includes the use of their meat as venison, their skins as soft, strong buckskin, and their antlers as handles for knives.

The musk deer ( Moschidae) of Asia and chevrotains ( Tragulidae) of tropical African and Asian forests are separate families that are also in the ruminant clade Ruminantia they are not especially closely related to Cervidae.ĭeer appear in art from Paleolithic cave paintings onwards, and they have played a role in mythology, religion, and literature throughout history, as well as in heraldry, such as red deer that appear in the coat of arms of Åland. In this, they differ from permanently horned antelope, which are part of a different family ( Bovidae) within the same order of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla). Male deer of all species (except the water deer), as well as female reindeer, grow and shed new antlers each year. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer and the Capreolinae, including reindeer (caribou), white-tailed deer, roe deer, and moose. A deer ( PL: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant mammal of the family Cervidae.

Largest elk antlers