Père David's deer

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

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

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.

Père David's deer

noun

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

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Père David's deer¹

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

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Père David's deer¹

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

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Gale, born to mother, Piper, and father, Freddie, is the second Pere David’s Deer born at the zoo in the past two years.

From

In one, he compares himself to a Père David’s deer — a species that, by the time a French missionary became in the 19th century the first Westerner to see it, existed only in captivity, in the Chinese emperor’s hunting preserve.

From

They are expected to have various animals but, for now, Gill said they have ring-tailed lemurs, sulcata tortoises, Pere David’s deer, red kangaroos, coatimundi, African crested porcupines, Muntiacini, and a Nubian ibex which are being held at their homes until their enclosures are finished on location.

From

“Donkeys, rabbits, dogs, cats and Père David’s deer,” Ms. Stieren said.

From

The grouping of Eld’s deer with Père David’s deer also led to the curious idea that the latter might have arisen as a hybrid of Eld’s deer and a wapiti-type cervine – a subject that I covered in an article from last year devoted to Père David’s deer.

From

Perea peregrinate

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