Zool. [L., an Indian quadruped mentioned by Pliny.] Name given by Buffon to an Indian deer (Cervus axis) known by sportsmen as the Hog-deer.
1601. Holland, Pliny, VIII. xxi. I. 206. A wild beast named Axis, with a skin like a fawn.
1774. Goldsm., Nat. Hist., II. 72. The horns of the axis are round, like those of the stag.
1859. Tennent, Ceylon, I. II. i. 157. The spotted axis troops in herds as numerous as the fallow deer in England.
