reindeer

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“
In this connection we must notice that the reindeer is the animal whose remains are most commonly met with in the debris they have left in the caves.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A large deer (Rangifer tarandus) of the Arctic and northern regions of Eurasia and North America, having branched antlers in both sexes.
  2. 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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Examples (50)

  • But the "camel of the Arctic Desert," as the reindeer has been called, thrives in the cold without care or shelter, and subsists on the moss, which he obtains by scraping deep holes in the snow. —  Peeps at Many Lands: Norway
  • The other man in the meantime endeavours to approach the reindeer, catches the animal by the horns and throws it to the ground killing it afterwards by a knife-stab behind the shoulder The reindeer is then handed over to the women, who, by an incision in the side of the belly, take out the entrails The stomach is emptied of its contents, and is then used to hold the blood. —  The Voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe, Volume I and Volume II
  • It is only amongst a nomadic people, whose main quest is pasturage, that the reindeer is a satisfactory draught animal. —  Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled A Narrative of Winter Travel in Interior Alaska
  • At times they have been fed for days on rabbits straight; at times on ptarmigan straight Sidenote: THE REINDEER'S USEFULNESS Speaking broadly, the reindeer is a stupid, unwieldy, and intractable brute, not comparing for a moment with the dog in intelligence or adaptability. —  Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled A Narrative of Winter Travel in Interior Alaska
  • The deer succeeded in drowning the other two The victory of the deer over their cruel and relentless foes gave very much delight to the Indians as well as to Frank, Alec, and Sam, and it was decided not to fire at the beautiful creatures, but to leave them to enjoy their victory After several days more of travel and varied adventure they reached the trading post and Burntwood River, and shortly after started off to Lake Wollaston, as the hunters had reported the reindeer were there in great herds. —  Three Boys in the Wild North Land
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

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

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Formerly also raindeer, ranedeer; from Middle English raynedere (= Dutch rendier =G. rennthier =Danish rensdyr), from rein (from Icelandic) or ron, from Anglo-Saxon hrān, a reindeer (cf. French renne =Spanish reno =Portuguese renna, renno =Italian renna, a reindeer), from Icelandic hreinn =Swedish ren, a reindeer (cf. Swedish ren-ko, a female reindeer (ko =English cow), later Lapp and Finn. raingo, a reindeer); from Lapp reino, pasturage or herding of cattle, a word much associated with the use and care of the reindeer (for which the Lapp word is patso), and mistaken by the Scandinavians for the reindeer itself.
 

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/ˈreɪndir/
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