Père David's deer

[ pairdah-veedz-deer, pair dey-vidz ]

noun
  1. a medium-sized, reddish-gray deer, Elaphurus davidianus, of which stocks were obtained in Beijing (formerly, Peking) in 1865 and brought to parks in Europe before the remaining Chinese deer were killed in 1900: the species is sustained in captivity.

Origin of Père David's deer

1
First recorded in 1895–1900; named after Père Armand David (1826–1900), French missionary, the deer's first European observer

Words Nearby Père David's deer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for Père David's deer

Père David's deer

noun
  1. a large grey deer, Elaphurus davidianus, surviving only in captivity as descendants of a herd preserved in the Imperial hunting park near Beijing

Origin of Père David's deer

1
C20: named after Father A. David (died 1900), French missionary

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012