Not really early Germanic though, because every other Germanic language kept the meaning of “animal”. It’s only modern English (since the 1500s) that narrowed it all the way to one specific species (or family of Cervidae).
My guess would be that the language gained the word “animal” from French and “deer” was pushed from its niche and forced to specialize?
Not really early Germanic though, because every other Germanic language kept the meaning of “animal”. It’s only modern English (since the 1500s) that narrowed it all the way to one specific species (or family of Cervidae).
My guess would be that the language gained the word “animal” from French and “deer” was pushed from its niche and forced to specialize?