Beast Pushed Deer Out of Its Old Meaning
A beast is an animal, especially a large or wild one. The Norman word displaced the native English deor, which then narrowed to mean deer.
A beast is an animal, particularly a large or dangerous one. Its arrival reshaped English: Old English *deor* meant any animal, and when Norman French brought in *beste*, the native word was squeezed into a single species and became *deer*. Later *animal*, from Latin, arrived and pushed *beast* itself towards the wild and the brutal.
- A wild animal. *A beast of the forest.*
- A cruel person. *He was a beast to her.*
- Something formidable. *That engine is a beast.*
- Beast of burden — a working animal. *Donkeys as beasts of burden.*
- Bestial — brutish. *Bestial cruelty.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | beast | A wild beast. |
| Plural | beasts | Beasts of prey. |
| Adjective | beastly | Beastly weather. |
| Adjective | bestial | Bestial behaviour. |
| Latin | bestia | An animal. |
- Beasts of burden carried the loads.Working animals.
- The weather has been beastly.British, mild and dated.
- That climb is a beast.Informal admiration.
Three words for animals, three layers of English
- Deer — Old English *deor*, once any animal
- Beast — Norman French, arriving after 1066
- Animal — Latin, arriving later through learned writing
- Each new arrival pushed the older word into a narrower place
- The same layering gave English cow and beef, pig and pork
Old French *beste*, from Latin *bestia*, an animal. English took it around 1200, and it displaced the native *deor* from its general sense.
Did deer once mean any animal?
Yes. Old English deor covered animals in general. It narrowed after beast arrived from French.
What is the difference between beast and animal?
Animal is neutral and scientific. Beast suggests size, wildness or brutality.