ˈmusk-deer
A small hornless ruminant (Moschus moschiferus) of Central Asia, the male of which yields the perfume called ‘musk’ (see musk n. 1). Applied also to the other members of the family Moschinæ, and to the family Tragulidæ, or chevrotains, which are horned and have no musk-bags.
| 1681 Grew Musæum i. ii. ii. 21 The Musk Deer. 1770 Gray Corr. w. Nicholls (1843) 113 Are her subjects all civet-cats and musk-deer? 1865 Mathias Sport in Himalayas 122 The musk-deer (called by the natives moosknafar) inhabits thick, dense, scrubby jungle... Their presence in a jungle may always be known by the musky odour of their droppings. 1893 Lydekker Horns & Hoofs 330 The musk⁓deer, or kastura, as it is termed in Hindustani, is so well known to all Himalayan sportsmen, that [etc.]. |