chevrotain
/ˈʃɛvɹə(ʊ)teɪn/
chevrotain means any of several small hornless ruminants of the family Tragulidae, native to tropical rainforests of South and Southeast Asia, and Central and West Africa.
chevrotain is pronounced /ˈʃɛvɹə(ʊ)teɪn/.
Why “chevrotain” is a great word
A small, hornless ruminant of tropical rainforests in Asia and Africa. From French *chevrotain*, diminutive of Old French *chevrot* (“young goat, kid”), itself a diminutive of *chievre* (“goat”), from Latin *capra* (“she-goat”). Unlike the antlered grandeur of a deer or the glandular stench of a muntjac, the chevrotain is a more ancient, furtive reflection of the hoofed animal, a living fossil clad in silent tread. It is the russet shadow flitting through the liana-tangled understory, the miniature cloven hoofprint in the mud, the elongated canine teeth like hidden ivory daggers—a quiet testament to all that evolution left behind, persisting in the green gloom.
Etymology
Borrowed from French chevrotain, chevrotin (“ruminant of the family Tragulidae”), the diminutive of Old French chevrot (“young goat, kid”), itself a diminutive of chievre (“goat”) (modern French chèvre (“she-goat”)) + -ot (diminutive suffix). Chievre is derived from Latin capra (“she-goat”), from caper (“billy goat, he-goat”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kápros (“billy goat, he-goat”)) + -a (suffix forming feminine counterparts of masculine nouns).
noun
- Any of several small hornless ruminants of the family Tragulidae, native to tropical rainforests of South and Southeast Asia, and Central and West Africa.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- deerlet 66% match — A chevrotain. vs chevrotain →
- meminna 61% match — Any spotted chevrotain of genus Moschiola, especially the Indian spotted chevrotain (Moschiola indica) vs chevrotain →
- deer 58% match — A ruminant mammal with hooves and often antlers, of the family Cervidae, or one of several similar animals from related families of the order Artiodactyla, such as the musk deer or mouse deer. vs chevrotain →
- chevreuil 58% match — A roe deer, a roebuck. vs chevrotain →
- boomorah 58% match — The water chevrotain (Hyemoschus aquaticus). vs chevrotain →
- tahr 56% match — Any of three genera of large Asian ungulates belonging to the subfamily Caprinae (goat-antelopes). vs chevrotain →
- tragelaphine 56% match — Of pertaining to or resembling the bovid tribe Tragelaphini (sometimes considered a subfamily, Tragelaphinae), which includes African antelopes such as bushbucks, elands, kudus and nyalas. vs chevrotain →
- chousingha 56% match — The four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), a small antelope found in open forest in India and Nepal. vs chevrotain →