deernessEtymologyThe County Durham river name is derived from Proto-Brythonic, from Proto-Celtic *dubros (“water”) + *nesta, an ancient river-naming word.deerness means A parish in Orkney council area, Scotland. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.nameA parish in Orkney council area, ScotlandA river in County Durham, north east England, a tributary of the River Browney with a course of 12 miles.nounThe state or quality of being a deer.“Thus, he praised the work of the cave painters and their “contemplative intuition” in portraying the animals in their surroundings, in particular their illumination of the essential being of these animals, their “'deerness,'” for example.”