lupo cervino, loup-cervier....

[Douglas G. Wilson]

Note that we have a reflex in modern English: "serval", applied to an African
wild cat (Felis serval) -- the name < French < Portuguese "lobo cerval" =
"deerlike wolf" (Latin "cervalis" = "deerlike" < "cervus" = "deer").

Italian "cervino" = "cervato" = "deerlike", apparently.

 From the "Dictionnaire de L'Académie française" (1694): "Loup-cervier. s.
m. Animal sauvage qui tient du chat & du leopard."

"Loup-cervier" and "lobo cerval" apparently are currently applied to the
Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis) and also to the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus).

I think the "deer" reference is to the spots, probably, offhand. The
interpretation as "deer-hunting" seems likely to be retrospective and
spurious, to my casual eye. I deny any expertise, however.

"Lobo cerval" = "gato cerval" in Spanish and Portuguese apparently. There
is also French "chat-cervier".

-- Doug Wilson