Definitions for: Reindeer

[n] arctic deer with large antlers in both sexes; called reindeer in Eurasia and caribou in North America

Webster (1913) Definition: Rein"deer` (r?n"d?r), n. [Icel. hreinn reindeer + E.
deer. Icel. hreinn is of Lapp or Finnish origin; cf. Lappish
reino pasturage.] [Formerly written also raindeer, and
ranedeer.] (Zool.)
Any ruminant of the genus Rangifer, of the Deer family,
found in the colder parts of both the Eastern and Western
hemispheres, and having long irregularly branched antlers,
with the brow tines palmate.

Note: The common European species (R. tarandus) is
domesticated in Lapland. The woodland reindeer or
caribou (R. caribou) is found in Canada and Maine
(see Caribou.) The Barren Ground reindeer or caribou
(R. Gr[oe]nlandicus), of smaller size, is found on
the shores of the Arctic Ocean, in both hemispheries.

Reindeer moss (Bot.), a gray branching lichen ({Cladonia
rangiferina}) which forms extensive patches on the ground
in arctic and even in north temperature regions. It is the
principal food of the Lapland reindeer in winter.

Reindeer period (Geol.), a name sometimes given to a part
of the Paleolithic era when the reindeer was common over
Central Europe.

Synonyms: caribou, Greenland caribou, Rangifer tarandus

See Also: barren ground caribou, cervid, deer, genus Rangifer, Rangifer, Rangifer arcticus, Rangifer caribou, woodland caribou

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