mule

B1 Topic:Animals

US /mjʉl/ UK /mjuːl/ See IPA manual

Freq #7462

Meanings

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

noun
A stubborn person.

You can't change his mind; he's as stubborn as a mule.
3

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

The police arrested a drug mule at the airport.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 noun · a person paid to carry... drug mule

Word family

Forms mulesmuleteermuleteers

Derived forms mule-littermule-stubbornmulebackmulelessmulelikemulelittermuleloadmulemanmuleshoemuleskinmuleskinnermuleteer

Related forms ass donkey hinny horse

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).

mule Middle English mūl Old English mūlus Latin *mukslós Proto-Indo-European

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# mule

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /mjʉl/
**IPA (UK):** /mjuːl/
**Frequency rank:** 7462

## Meanings
1. An animal that is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.
2. A stubborn person.
3. A person paid to carry illegal drugs from one place to another.

## Examples
- The farmer used a strong mule to carry his goods up the mountain.
- You can't change his mind; he's as stubborn as a mule.
- The police arrested a drug mule at the airport.

## Derived Forms
- mule-litter
- mule-stubborn
- muleback
- muleless
- mulelike
- mulelitter
- muleload
- muleman
- muleshoe
- muleskin
- muleskinner
- muleteer

## Related Forms
- ass
- donkey
- hinny
- horse

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mule
- Root: mūl
- Root: mūlus
- Root: *mukslós

## Etymology
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).

## AI Etymology
Mule comes 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). In present-day English its meanings include an animal that is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, a stubborn person, and a person paid to carry illegal drugs from one place to another. The historical chain runs through mule (Middle English), mule (Anglo-Norman), mūl (Old English), mūlus (Latin), and *mukslós (Proto-Indo-European). Related and derived forms include ass, donkey, hinny, and mule-litter.

## Topics
- Animals

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mule

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