reindeer

rein·deer  (rndîr)

n. pl. reindeer or rein·deers

A large deer (Rangifer tarandus) of the Arctic and northern regions of Eurasia and North America, having branched antlers in both sexes.

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[Middle English reindere : Old Norse hreinn, reindeer; see ker-¹ in Indo-European roots + Middle English der, animal; see deer.]

Word History: Although Saint Nick uses reins on his reindeer and reindeer are used to pull sleds in Lapland and northern Siberia, the word reindeer has nothing to do with reins. The element -deer is indeed our word deer, but the rein- part is borrowed from another language, specifically from the Scandinavian languages spoken by the chiefly Danish and Norwegian invaders and settlers of England from the 9th to the 11th century. Even though the Old Icelandic language in which much of Old Norse literature is written is not the same variety of Old Norse spoken by these settlers of England, it is close enough to give us an idea of the words that were borrowed into English. Thus we can cite the Old Icelandic word hreinn, which means "reindeer," as the source of the first part of the English word. The word reindeer is first recorded in Middle English in a work composed before 1400.

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reindeer

Noun

pl -deer or -deers a deer with large branched antlers that lives in the arctic regions [Old Norse hreindȳri]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

reindeer - Arctic deer with large antlers in both sexes; called `reindeer' in Eurasia and `caribou' in North America caribou, Greenland caribou, Rangifer tarandus cervid, deer - distinguished from Bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers genus Rangifer, Rangifer - reindeer or caribou Rangifer caribou, woodland caribou - any of several large caribou living in coniferous forests of southern Canada; in some classifications included in the species Rangifer tarandus barren ground caribou, Rangifer arcticus - of tundra of northern Canada; in some classifications included in the species Rangifer tarandus

Translations

reindeer [ˈreɪndɪəʳ] n (pl inv) → reno

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reindeer [ˈreɪndɪəʳ] n (pl inv) → renne m

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reindeer [ˈreɪndɪəʳ] n inv → Ren(tier) nt

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reindeer [ˈreɪndɪəʳ] n (pl inv) → renna

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reindeer

n reindeer [ˈreindiə]

a kind of large deer found in Northern Europe, Asia and America. rendier رنَّه، أيِّل северен елен sob rensdyr das Ren τάρανδος reno põhjapõder گوزن شمالی poro renne אַיָיל הַצָפוֹן एक प्रकार का हिरण sob rénszarvas rusa kutub hreindÿr renna となかい 순록 šiaurės elnias ziemeļbriedis rusa kutub rendier reinsdyr renifer rena ren северный олень sob irvas ren กวางขนาดใหญ่แถบขั้วโลกเหนือ ren geyiği 馴鹿 північний олень ہرن کی قسم کا جانور tuần lộc 驯鹿