"female of the deer" (the male is a buck), from Old English da "a female deer," which is of unknown origin, perhaps a Celtic loan-word (compare Cornish da "fallow deer," Old Irish dam "ox," Welsh dafad "sheep"). The native word is hind (n.). Similar words in continental Germanic and Scandinavian (such as Old High German tamo) appear to be from or have been altered by influence of Latin damma "a deer." Doe-eyed, of girls, is from 1845.