black-tailed deer

[ blak-teyld ]

noun
  1. a variety of mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus, of the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, having a tail that is black above.

Origin of black-tailed deer

1
An Americanism dating back to 1800–10
  • Also called blacktail .
  • Also blacktail deer [blak-teyl]. /ˈblækˌteɪl/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use black-tailed deer in a sentence

  • They could be no other than the ‘black-tailed deer’ of the Rocky Mountains—the cervus macrotis described by the naturalist Say.

    The Desert Home | Mayne Reid
  • Mr. Roosevelt tells us that the greatest number of black-tailed deer he ever killed in one day was three.

  • After no little toiling he reached the dead body, and found that he had shot a rather small black-tailed deer.

    Adrift in the Wilds | Edward S. Ellis
  • There were many black-tailed deer and elk along the river, and grizzlies were to be found in the open country.

    Indian Boyhood | [AKA Ohiyesa], Charles A. Eastman
  • Two black-tailed deer, with a few squirrels, and some small birds, were all the animals seen in the course of the day.