mule

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An animal that is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.

   The farmer used a strong mule to carry his goods up the mountain.

2. 2
   noun

   A stubborn person.

   You can't change his mind; he's as stubborn as a mule.

3. 3
   noun

   A person paid to carry illegal drugs from one place to another.

   The police arrested a drug mule at the airport.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Mule in the animal sense is an Old English word ultimately derived from Latin mulus. The unrelated late Middle English mule meaning a backless slipper comes from Latin mulleus calceus, the name for the reddish shoes worn by ancient Roman magistrates.

From Middle English mule, from Anglo-Norman mule and Old English mūl, both from Latin mūlus, from Proto-Indo-European *mukslós. Compare Late Latin muscellus (“young he-mule”), Old East Slavic мъшкъ (mŭškŭ, “mule”), Ancient Greek (Phocian) μυχλός (mukhlós, “he-ass”), and German Maul Maultier, Maulesel (through Latin).

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
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