Prickett

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A young male fallow deer in its second year, identified by its straight, unbranched antlers that form short spikes
2. A male deer, usually a fallow deer in its second year, whose antlers are simple, unforked spikes
3. The second-year male of the fallow deer species, carrying straight spike antlers rather than the branched ones of older stags

Etymology: A prickett is a young male deer, usually in its second year, whose antlers have not yet branched. They grow as single straight spikes, and the name comes from that appearance. It is built from "prick," a word for a sharp point that goes back to Old English, with the diminutive ending "-et" added. A prickett is, in effect, a little spike. The same image runs through the word's relatives. "Prickle" comes from the same root, and both words describe something pointed enough to pierce. Hunters' vocabulary from earlier centuries used the term for a young stag as a way of marking a deer's age by its antlers, so the deer was identified by its weapons before it had grown any real ones.

Synonyms: brocket