doe English · revision 16139

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000, Ælfric's Glossary}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /doʊ/; /dəʊ/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|do]], [[inh|ang|dā]],^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026) of unknown origin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(ODE 2010) Etymonline and Klein suggest a Celtic loan, comparing [[kw|da|t=fallow deer]], [[sga|dam|t=ox]] and [[cy|dafad|t=sheep]];^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Merriam-Webster compares [[gsw|tē|t=doe]] and, doubtfully, [[sa|धयति|tr=dhayati|t=he sucks]].^(MWU 2024) Some have taken ''dā'' as a contraction of a word borrowed from [[la|dāma|t=fallow deer]], like [[goh|tāmo]] and the first part of [[de|Damhirsch]], but the OED says this has serious difficulties.^(OED 2026)^(Weekley 1921)^(Skeat 1911)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English ''dā'', a female deer, is found about 1000 in Ælfric's Glossary;^(Barnhart 1988) in early Middle English ''do'' (before 1200) it was the fallow deer.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Barnhart traces a narrowing and widening: the fallow deer before 1200, then the female of the fallow deer by about 1300, and any deer by about 1380.^(Barnhart 1988) From 1607 it is used of a female [[rabbit]] or [[hare]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(HTOED) and later of other animals whose male is a [[buck]], such as goats, rats and kangaroos.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) The native word for a female deer was ''[[hind]]''.^(Etymonline) In slang it has meant a girl or young woman since about 1572.^(GDoS) ''[[doe-eyed]]'' is from 1845.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – Old English ''dā''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1200 – the fallow deer.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – the female of the fallow deer.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1425–26 – ''[[doeskin]]''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1607 – a female rabbit or hare.^(Barnhart 1988)^(HTOED)

+ * 1845 – ''doe-eyed''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An adult female [[deer]], especially a [[fallow deer]].^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+ # The female of various other animals whose male is called a [[buck]], such as the [[rabbit]], [[hare]], [[goat]] or [[kangaroo]].^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[doeskin]]

+ * [[doe-eyed]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In law, ''John Doe'' was the plaintiff in a fictitious action (''Doe versus Roe'') used to test a point of law, and in the US ''John Doe'' or ''Jane Doe'' is an unidentified person.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}