Word
reindeer
Phoneticsrein·deer
US/ˈɹeɪnˌdɪɹ/
UK/ɹˈeɪndiə/
Definitions
01the animal
n. a large deer that lives in very cold northern areas like Scandinavia or Alaska.
n. a large deer of the species Rangifer tarandus, inhabiting Arctic and subarctic tundra and boreal forests.
“We saw a herd of reindeer crossing the snowy road in northern Norway.”
“The indigenous Sámi people have traditionally relied on reindeer for their meat, hides, and as a means of transportation across the frozen tundra.”
Usage
The plural form can be either 'reindeer' or 'reindeers', though 'reindeer' is more common when referring to a group.
Synonyms
02to herd reindeer
v. to work as a farmer who looks after and moves groups of reindeer.
v. to engage in the herding, farming, or management of reindeer populations.
“His family has been reindeering in the mountains for many generations.”
“The community continues to reindeer according to ancestral patterns, moving the animals between seasonal grazing grounds despite modern environmental pressures.”
Technical
Etymology
From Middle English reyndere, reynder, rayne-dere, from Old Norse hreindýri (“reindeer”), from hreinn (“reindeer”) + dýr (“animal”). Compare Dutch rendier (“reindeer”), German Rentier (“reindeer”), Swedish rendjur (“reindeer”), Danish rensdyr (“reindeer”) and French renne (“reindeer”). Related also to displaced Old English hrān (“reindeer”). Unrelated to rein.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/reindeer