reindeer

English

a reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

Wikispecies

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”). Related also to displaced Old English hrān (“reindeer”).

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɹeɪndɪə/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹeɪndɪɹ/
Audio (GA) (file)
Rhymes: -eɪndɪə, -eɪndɪɹ
Hyphenation: rein‧deer

Noun

reindeer (plural reindeer or reindeers)

(plural: reindeer) Any Arctic and subarctic-dwelling deer of the species Rangifer tarandus, with a number of subspecies.
Santa Claus' sleigh is supposedly pulled by eight reindeer
- 1768, D[aniel] Fenning, “LAPLAND”, in The Royal English Dictionary; or, A Treasury of the English Language, 3rd improved edition, London: Printed for R. Baldwin, Hawes and Co., T. Caslon, S. Crowder, J. Johnson, Wilson and Fell, Robinson and Roberts, and B. Collins, OCLC 22419759:
  Here is a prodigious number of wild beaſts, as ſtags, bears, wolves, foxes of various colours, martens, hares, glittens, beavers, otters, elk, and rein deer: the latter is leſs than a stag.
- 2013 March, Nancy Langston, “Mining the Boreal North”, in American Scientist‎, volume 101, number 2, archived from the original on 13 April 2016, retrieved 10 May 2013, page 98:
  Reindeer are well suited to the taiga’s frigid winters. They can maintain a thermogradient between body core and the environment of up to 100 degrees, in part because of insulation provided by their fur, and in part because of counter-current vascular heat exchange systems in their legs and nasal passages.
(plural: reindeers, biology) Any species, subspecies, ecotype, or other scientific grouping of such animals.

Hyponyms

caribou

Santa Claus's reindeer

Blitzen
Comet
Cupid
Dancer
Dasher
Donner
Prancer
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Vixen

Derived terms

Arctic reindeer (†R. t. eogroenlandicus)
busk reindeer (R. t. buskensis)
Finnish forest reindeer (R. t. fennicus)
Kamchatkan reindeer (R. t. phylarchus)
mountain reindeer (R. t. tarandus)
Novaya Zemlya reindeer (R. t. pearsoni)
reindeer calf
reindeer games
reindeer lichen (Cladonia spp.)
reindeer moss (Cladonia spp.)
Siberian forest reindeer (R. t. valentinae)
Siberian tundra reindeer (R. t. sibiricus)
Svalbard reindeer (R. t. platyrhynchus)
wild reindeer (R. t. tarandus)

Translations

Rangifer tarandus

Ahtna: udzih
Ainu: トゥナッカィ (tunakkay)
Albanian: renë (sq) f
Aleut: itx̂aygix̂
Alutor: ӄураӈа (quraŋa)
Arabic: رَنَة‎ f (rana)
Armenian: հյուսիսային եղջերու (hy) (hyusisayin ełǰeru)
Asturian: renu m
Atikamekw: atikw
Azerbaijani: şimal maralı
Basque: elur-orein
Belarusian: паўно́чны але́нь m (paŭnóčny aljénʹ)
Breton: karv-erc'h (br) m, kirvi-erc'h (br) pl
Bulgarian: се́верен еле́н m (séveren elén), кари́бу m (karíbu) (North America)
Catalan: ren (ca) m
Cherokee: ᏧᏴᏢ ᎠᏫ (tsuyvtlv awi)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 馴鹿／驯鹿 (zh) (xùnlù)
Chukchi: ӄораӈы (qoraṇy)
Cree: ᐊᑎᐦᒄ (atihkw)
Czech: sob (cs) m
Danish: ren (da) c, rensdyr (da) n
Dutch: rendier (nl) n
Erzya: пучо (pučo)
Esperanto: rangifero (eo)
Estonian: põhjapõder (et), poro (et), karibu
Even: ора̇н (orȧn), ора̇н (orȧn)
Evenki: орон (oron), орон (oron)
Faroese: reindýr n, reindjór n, reinsdjór n
Finnish: peura (fi), poro (fi), karibu (fi)
French: renne (fr) m, caribou (fr) m (North America)
Galician: reno (gl) m
Georgian: ჩრდილოეთის ირემი (črdiloetis iremi)
German: Ren (de) n, Rentier (de) n
Greek: τάρανδος (el) m (tárandos)
Ancient: τάρανδος m (tárandos)
Greenlandic: tuttu
Hindi: रेनडियर (renḍiyar)
Hungarian: rénszarvas (hu)
Icelandic: hreindýr (is) n
Ido: rentiro (io), karibuo (io) (North America)
Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} rusa kutub
Interlingua: ren (ia)
Inuktitut: ᑐᒃᑐ (tokto)
Inupiaq: tuttu
Irish: réinfhia m
Italian: renna (it) f
Itelmen: ӄора (qora)
Japanese: トナカイ (ja) (tonakai), 馴鹿 (ja) (となかい, tonakai), 馴鹿 (ja) (じゅんろく, junroku)
Ket: сель (selʹ)
Korean: 순록 (ko) (sullok)
Latin: tarandrus (la) m, tarandus m
Latvian: ziemeļbriedis m
Lithuanian: šiaurinis elnias m
Lower Tanana: bedzeyh
Luxembourgish: Rendéier n
Macedonian: ирвас m (irvas)
Malay: rusa kutub (ms)
Manchu: ᠣᡵᠣᠨ
ᠪᡠᡥᡡ (oron buhū)
Maori: renetia
Mongolian: буга (mn) (buga), цаа буга (caa buga)
Nanai: оро̄н
Negidal: ойон
Northern Yukaghir: илэ (ile)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: reinsdyr (no) n, rein (no) m
Nynorsk: reinsdyr n, rein m
Ojibwe: adik
Old English: hrān m
Old Norse: hreinn m
Oroch: оро
Oroqen: ɔrɔn, ɔrɔn
Persian: گوزن شمالی‎ (gavazn-e šomâli)
Polish: renifer (pl) m anim, karibu (pl) n (North America)
Portuguese: rena (pt) f, rangífer m, rangífero (pt) m
Romanian: ren (ro) m
Russian: се́верный оле́нь (ru) m (sévernyj olénʹ), кари́бу (ru) m (karíbu) (North America)
Sami:
Inari: puásui, kodde
Kildin: пуаз (puaz)
Lule: boatsoj
Northern: boazu
Skolt: puäʒʒ, kââʹreǩ, kåʹdd
Southern: bovtje, bovtse
Scottish Gaelic: fiadh Lochlannach m, fiadh-sneachda m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: и̏рва̄с m, со̏б m, северни јелен m, сјеверни јелен m
Roman: ȉrvās (sh) m, sȍb (sh) m, severni jelen m, sjeverni jelen m
Slovak: sob m
Slovene: severni jelen (sl) m
Spanish: reno (es) m, rangífero m, caribú m (North America)
Swahili: kulungu aktiki m, mbawala aktiki f
Swedish: ren (sv) c, rendjur c
Tagalog: reno
Tanacross: wudzih
Thai: กวางเรนเดียร์ (gwaang rayn-dia), เรนเดียร์ (rayn-dia)
Turkish: Ren geyiği (tr)
Tuvan: иви (ivi)
Udihe: оро, оло
Ukrainian: півні́чний оле́нь m (pivníčnyj olénʹ)
Ulch: оро
Vietnamese: tuần lộc (vi)
Welsh: carw Llychlyn m

Verb

reindeer (third-person singular simple present reindeers, present participle reindeering, simple past and past participle reindeered)

To herd or farm reindeer