Etymology

roe deer

Today it means: A small, nimble Eurasian deer with no visible tail, a white rump patch, and a reddish summer coat that turns grey in winter, the male having short three-pointed antlers (Capreolus capreolus and Capreolus pygargus). Full definition →

Middle English ro der ← Old English rāhdēor
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromrāhdēor“roe deer”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromro der
  3. English todayroe deer

From Middle English ro der, roadeor, from Old English rāhdēor (“roe deer”), corresponding to roe + deer. Cognate with Icelandic rádýr, Swedish rådjur, Norwegian and Danish rådyr.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.