cervid

noun

cer·vid ˈsər-vəd

plural cervids

: any of a family (Cervidae, the deer family) of ruminant artiodactyl mammals (such as the elk, moose, or white-tailed deer) that have solid deciduous antlers borne only by males except for the caribou in which both males and females bear antlers : deer sense 1

Antler growth in elk, as in all cervids, originates from a pedicel in the skull.—

Mark Lapinski et al.

Examples of cervid in a Sentence

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That regulation was put in place because of concerns surrounding chronic wasting disease, the highly infectious and fatal neurological disease affecting deer, elk, and other cervids. —

Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 9 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

from stem of New Latin Cervidae, family name, from Cervus, a genus of the family (going back to Latin cervus "stag, deer") + -idae -idae — more at cervine

First Known Use

circa 1889, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of cervid was circa 1889

See more words from the same year