Antler

//ˈænt.lə// name, noun

name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A deciduous branching and bony structure on the head of deer, moose, and elk, normally in pairs, grown and shed each year. (Compare with horn, which is generally not shed.)

    "While hiking in the woods, I found an antler from a deer."

  2. 2
    deciduous horn of a member of the deer family wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A city and village in North Dakota.

Example

More examples

"Surrealism is a bullfrog's antler."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English auntelere, hauntelere, from Old French antoillier (“antler, horn”), from ante- (“in front of”) + oillier (oil (“eye”) + -ier (a suffix indicating location)), possibly from an unattested Latin *anteocularis (“before the eye”).

Etymology 2

Named for nearby Antler Creek, whose branches resemble deer antlers when viewed on a map.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.