deer

Where does the word "deer" come from? It comes from Proto-Germanic deuzą, passing through Old English before entering English (1500s).

Deer’s story begins in Proto-Germanic: deuzą meant “animal.” German 'Tier' still means any animal. By 700s-1000s, the word had taken hold in Old English as dēor. Meant any wild animal; Shakespeare's 'rats and mice and such small deer' keeps the old sense. It reached English by 1500s as deer. Narrowed to the antlered animal during the Middle Ages. Today, deer means a hoofed grazing animal; the males usually have antlers.

1. Stage 1 · Proto-Germanic · ancient deuzą "animal", German 'Tier' still means any animal.
2. Stage 2 · Old English · 700s-1000s dēor "wild animal", meant any wild animal; Shakespeare's 'rats and mice and such small deer' keeps the old sense.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s deer "deer", narrowed to the antlered animal during the Middle Ages.