[a. F. chevrotin (-ain), dim. of OF. chevrot, itself orig. a dim. of chèvre she-goat.] The smaller species of Musk Deer, found in S. E. Asia and the adjacent islands.
1774. Goldsm., Nat. Hist., I. II. iii. 311. The chevrotin, or little Guinea deer … the least of all cloven-footed quadrupeds.
1847. Carpenter, Zool., § 277. The true Musk-Deer inhabit … central Asia…. The other Musk-Deer to which the general name of Chevrotains is given, are inhabitants of Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, and Southern India.
1880. A. R. Wallace, Isl. Life, 27. The Tragulidæ are small deer-like animals, known as chevrotains or mouse-deer.
1883. Mrs. Bishop, Sk. in Malay Penin., in Leisure H., 85/1. The palandok or chevrotin, the hog deer … and the sambre, may not be far off.
