Reindeer

Reindeer
Reindeer Rein"deer` (r?n"d?r), n. [Icel. hreinn reindeer + E. deer. Icel. hreinn is of Lapp or Finnish origin; cf. Lappish reino pasturage.] [Formerly written also {raindeer}, and {ranedeer}.] (Zool.) Any ruminant of the genus {Rangifer}, of the Deer family, found in the colder parts of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres, and having long irregularly branched antlers, with the brow tines palmate. [1913 Webster]

Note: The common European species ({Rangifer tarandus}) is domesticated in Lapland. The woodland reindeer or caribou ({Rangifer caribou}) is found in Canada and Maine (see {Caribou}.) The Barren Ground reindeer or caribou ({Rangifer Gr[oe]nlandicus}), of smaller size, is found on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, in both hemispheries. [1913 Webster]

{Reindeer moss} (Bot.), a gray branching lichen ({Cladonia rangiferina}) which forms extensive patches on the ground in arctic and even in north temperature regions. It is the principal food of the Lapland reindeer in winter.

{Reindeer period} (Geol.), a name sometimes given to a part of the Paleolithic era when the reindeer was common over Central Europe. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • reindeer — c.1400, from O.N. hreindyri reindeer, from dyr animal (see DEER (Cf. deer)) + hreinn, the usual name for the animal, from P.Gmc. *khrainaz (Cf. O.E. hran reindeer, Ger. Renn). Probably cognate with Gk. krios ram, but folk etymology associates it… …   Etymology dictionary

  • reindeer — [rān′dir΄] n. pl. reindeer or occas.Rare reindeers [ME reindere < ON hreindȳri < hreinn, reindeer (< IE * k̑erei , horned animal < base * k̑er , top of the head, horn > HORN, L cerebrum) + dȳr, animal, DEER] any of a genus… …   English World dictionary

  • reindeer — ► NOUN (pl. same or reindeers) ▪ a deer with large branching antlers, native to the northern tundra and subarctic. ORIGIN Old Norse …   English terms dictionary

  • Reindeer — Caribou redirects here. For other uses, see caribou (disambiguation). For other uses of reindeer , see reindeer (disambiguation). Reindeer Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • reindeer — /rayn dear /, n., pl. reindeer, (occasionally) reindeers. any of several large deer of the genus Rangifer, of northern and arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America, both male and female of which have antlers. [1350 1400; ME raynder(e) …   Universalium

  • reindeer — rein·deer (rān’dîr′) n. pl. reindeer or rein·deers ▸ A large deer (Rangifer tarandus) of the Arctic tundra and northern boreal forests, having large hooves and long branched antlers in both sexes, and widely domesticated in Eurasia. Subspecies… …   Word Histories

  • Reindeer —    Many Arctic cultures (including the Saami and the Chukchi) subsist by reindeer herding. Not surprisingly, reindeer play a role in their shamanic narratives, rituals, and cosmologies. Among the Siberian Chukchi, for example, shamans sometimes… …   Historical dictionary of shamanism

  • reindeer — UK [ˈreɪnˌdɪə(r)] / US [ˈreɪnˌdɪr] noun [countable] Word forms reindeer : singular reindeer plural reindeer or reindeers an animal like a deer with large antlers growing from its head that lives in the Arctic and in northern regions of Europe and …   English dictionary

  • reindeer — rein|deer [ˈreındıə US dır] n plural reindeer [Date: 1300 1400; : Old Norse; Origin: hreinn reindeer + English deer] a large ↑deer with long wide ↑antlers (=horns) , that lives in cold northern areas …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • reindeer — [[t]re͟ɪndɪə(r)[/t]] N COUNT (Reindeer is both the singular and the plural form.) A reindeer is a deer with large horns called antlers that lives in northern areas of Europe, Asia, and America …   English dictionary

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