roe

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small Eurasian deer of the genus Capreolus, now usually called a roe deer

   The Siberian roe changes from a reddish summer coat to a greyer winter coat.

2. 2
   noun

   the mass of eggs in the ovary of a fish or certain marine invertebrates, or the released eggs themselves

   The chef served the smoked fish roe on small pieces of toast.

3. 3
   noun

   the milt or sperm of a male fish, also called soft roe

   The recipe used soft roe from a male herring rather than fish eggs.

Two native homonyms converged in spelling. The deer name comes from Old English ra or raha and related Germanic names for the roe deer, perhaps from a root meaning 'spotted.' The egg sense comes through Middle English from a Germanic word represented by Old Norse hrogn, 'fish spawn.'

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