1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Venison

VENISON (pronounced venzon), originally a word meaning a beast of any kind killed in the chase, but now only applied to the flesh of the deer prepared for eating. The O. Fr. veneisun, venoison, &c., mod. venaison, meant the flesh of the deer or boar, the principal beasts of the chase (Lat. venatio, hunting).