reindeer

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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 native to North America and Greenland are usually called caribou.

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

Word History: The word reindeer has nothing to do with reins. The element -deer in reindeer is indeed our word deer, but the element rein- has a different origin. Rein, "leather strap for guiding animals," comes from Old French resne, while the rein- in reindeer is of Scandinavian origin. Wild reindeer once roamed Great Britain in prehistoric times, but they had become extinct long before the Anglo-Saxons invaded the island, or even before the Celts settled it in ancient times. (The small herd of wild reindeer that currently lives in Scotland descends from animals imported from Scandinavia.) To most people in medieval England and Scotland, the reindeer was a foreign creature living in distant Scandinavia, and it is therefore not surprising that the English name of this animal contains an element borrowed from a Scandinavian source. The rein- in Middle English reindere (Modern English reindeer) comes from the Old Norse word for the reindeer, hreinn.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

reindeer

(ˈreɪnˌdɪə)

n, pl -deer or -deers

(Animals) a large deer, Rangifer tarandus, having large branched antlers in the male and female and inhabiting the arctic regions of Greenland, Europe, and Asia. It also occurs in North America, where it is known as a caribou

[C14: from Old Norse hreindӯri, from hreinn reindeer + dyr animal; related to Dutch rendier, German Rentier; see deer]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

rein•deer

(ˈreɪnˌdɪər)

n., pl. -deer, (occasionally) -deers.

a large deer, Rangifer tarandus, of N and arctic regions of the world: both male and female have antlers. Compare caribou.

[1350–1400; Middle English raynder(e) < Old Norse hreindȳri=hreinn reindeer + dȳr animal (c. deer)]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

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

reindeer

noun

Related words
male buck

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

رَنَةرنَّه، أيِّل

sob

rensdyr

Rentier Ren

τάρανδος

reno

põhjapõder

porokaribupeura

renne

sob

rénszarvas

hreindýrhreindÿr

renna

トナカイ

순록

šiaurės elnias

ziemeļbriedis

ren

sob

severni jelen

ren

กวางขนาดใหญ่แถบขั้วโลกเหนือ

Ren geyiği

con tuần lộc

驯鹿

reindeer

[ˈreɪndɪəʳ] N (reindeer, reindeers (pl)) → reno m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

reindeer

[ˈreɪndɪə^r] [reindeer] [ˈreɪndɪə^r] (pl) n → renne m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

reindeer

n pl <-> → Ren(tier) nt; Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer → Rudolf Rotnase m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

reindeer

[ˈreɪnˌdɪəʳ] n pl inv → renna

reindeer

(ˈreindiə) – plural ˈreindeer – noun

a kind of large deer found in Northern Europe, Asia and America.

reindeer

→ رَنَة sob rensdyr Rentier τάρανδος reno poro renne sob renna トナカイ 순록 rendier reinsdyr renifer rena северный олень ren กวางขนาดใหญ่แถบขั้วโลกเหนือ ren geyiği con tuần lộc 驯鹿

References in classic literature ?

When I was a youngster of sixteen, a good sloop-sailor and all- round bay-waterman, my sloop, the Reindeer, was chartered by the Fish Commission, and I became for the time being a deputy patrolman.

Also we had to devote ourselves to the miserable task of bailing, for in some incomprehensible way the Reindeer had sprung a generous leak.

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And here is my dear old Bac"; and she laid hold of the horns of a reindeer, that had a bright copper ring round its neck, and was tethered to the spot.

There it is, glorious and beautiful!" said the Reindeer. "One can spring about in the large shining valleys!

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Later, they would go south into Baffin Land after the reindeer, and to get their year's store of salmon from the hundreds of streams and lakes of the interior; coming back north in September or October for the musk-ox hunting and the regular winter sealery.

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Nelson, "Young Scratch" they called him, to distinguish him from "Old Scratch," his father, sailed in the sloop Reindeer, partners with one "Clam." Clam was a dare-devil, but Nelson was a reckless maniac.

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She was a Russian Princess, and had driven all the way from Finland in a sledge drawn by six reindeer. The sledge was shaped like a great golden swan, and between the swan's wings lay the little Princess herself.

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This plant belongs to the genus Cladonia, and somewhat resembles the reindeer lichen.

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Occasionally, a vocal strain more sonorous than the generality informed the listener that some boastful bass was in blue water, or in the hunting field, or with the reindeer, or on the mountain, or among the heather; but the Marshal of the Marshalsea knew better, and had got him hard and fast.

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They told us of sledges and reindeer to carry us over the snow in the winter time, by which means, indeed, the Russians travel more in winter than they can in summer, as in these sledges they are able to run night and day: the snow, being frozen, is one universal covering to nature, by which the hills, vales, rivers, and lakes are all smooth and hard is a stone, and they run upon the surface, without any regard to what is underneath.

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Some of our northern Indians eat raw the marrow of the Arctic reindeer, as well as various other parts, including the summits of the antlers, as long as they are soft.

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And buy me a pair of reindeer gloves, number eights, and a tie to match that new suit of mine, at Eale