What does venery mean?
Venery denotes hunting, especially hunting conducted as a traditional or organized pursuit, and by extension the game or animals taken in such a hunt. It is chiefly literary or archaic today, though it survives in references to hunting books, sporting history, and the management of estates kept for game. In older usage, venery could suggest the whole activity of the chase, including hunting with hounds or pursuing game for sport. It has no necessary positive or negative moral tone, but its register often evokes privilege, tradition, and an older rural social order. A reader encountering the word should not confuse it with venison: venery names the activity or its quarry, not specifically the flesh of deer. Today it is chiefly useful for recognizing historical prose and the terminology of hunting rather than for ordinary contemporary description.
nounHunting, especially as a traditional or organized pursuit; by extension, game or wild animals hunted.
- The activity or sport of hunting, especially organized or traditional hunting.
- Game or wild animals hunted; the quarry.
"A history of the hunt examines how venery developed from royal privilege into a regulated sport."
"A history of the hunt examines how venery developed from royal privilege into a regulated sport."
"His study of venery covered everything from hounds and horns to the management of estates kept for game."
The plural is veneries, though venery is more often encountered as a mass noun naming the activity of hunting.
"The guide discusses several venery practices found across the country."
In the age of hounds and hunting horns, venery named not merely a chase but a whole aristocratic world of sport and privilege.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of venery
Venery entered English in the early 17th century from Old French venerie, meaning “hunting.” The French word came through Latin venaria, a noun associated with venari, “to hunt.” Related English words include venation, venatic, and venison, all reflecting the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How venery is actually used
The word is now rare and chiefly literary, archaic, or confined to discussions of hunting, sporting history, and estate management. It is more common in British English than in ordinary contemporary American usage.
Easily confused with venery
Venery means hunting or the game hunted, whereas venison means the flesh of deer.