Muntjaks

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Small deer native to South and Southeast Asia, with short antlers and a barking call
2. Compact Asian deer that has tusk-like canine teeth and small, short antlers on the males
3. Petite forest-dwelling deer of tropical Asia, known for its sharp barking alarm call

Etymology: "Muntjaks" is simply the plural of "muntjak", the name of a small deer native to South and Southeast Asia. The singular "muntjak" was borrowed into English from Sundanese, the language of West Java, where it is the local name for the animal. Because the English word follows the regular pattern for plurals, it takes the ending "-s" in the plural, so one speaks of a single muntjak and several muntjaks, though some writers prefer to leave the form unchanged.