Muntjak

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small deer native to South and Southeast Asia, known for its short antlers and barking call
2. A compact hoofed mammal of the forests of South and Southeast Asia, with tusk-like canine teeth and short antlers
3. Any of several small deer found across South and Southeast Asia, often called barking deer because of their alarm call

Etymology: The muntjak is a small deer of South and Southeast Asia, and its name travelled a long way before reaching English. Dutch speakers in the East Indies borrowed it from Sundanese, the language of western Java, where the animal was called "mencek". The Dutch form "muntjak" then carried the name into European languages, and English took it up as an alternative spelling of "muntjac". The spelling variant "muntjak" simply follows the Dutch form, while "muntjac" follows the more common English spelling. Both point back to the same Sundanese word, so the name records a Javanese-region animal passed through colonial Dutch trade into English natural history writing.

Synonyms: barking deer