cervine /ˈsəːvʌɪn/adjective 2noun 2forms 1 adjective2 •Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of deer (in the broad sense).To which she replied sweetly, shaking that fine cervine head: ‘At any moment tell yourself that things are much better that they have any right to be.’ — 1978 •Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of deer in the narrow sense, that is, Cervinae, Capreolinae, or similar. noun2 •A deer of the subfamily Cervinae, also idiomatically called the Old World deer in English (even though that term is a misnomer).The cervines are arguably Europe's greatest mammalian success story: the earliest type, Cervavitus, first appeared about 10 million years ago—in Europe. — 2018 •(informal) Any cervid/true deer. formscervines
