donkey

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A grey animal with long ears, similar to a small horse, used for carrying loads.

   The farmer loaded the sacks onto his donkey.

2. 2
   noun

   A foolish or stubborn person (informal).

   Don't be such a donkey; just ask for directions.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Donkey arose in slang and dialect in the late 18th century, when the animal had previously been called an ass, but the word’s origin is unknown. Early evidence indicates that it rhymed with monkey, prompting uncertain suggestions that it came from the colour word dun or the personal name Duncan.

The origin is uncertain. Originally a slang term from the late eighteenth century. Perhaps from Middle English *donekie (“a miniature dun horse”), a double diminutive of Middle English don, dun, dunne (a name for a dun horse), equivalent to modern English dun (“brownish grey colour”) + -ock (diminutive suffix) + -ie (diminutive suffix), or similarly formed from the given name Duncan. Compare Middle English donning (“a dun horse”), English dunnock. Became more common than the original term ass due to the latter's homophony and partial merger with arse (compare similar development between coney…

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary