whinny

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a gentle or relatively high-pitched neigh made by a horse

   A soft whinny came from the mare at the far end of the stable.

2. 2
   verb

   to make the gentle neighing sound characteristic of a horse

   The pony began to whinny when it heard the feed bucket.

From Middle English whinien or whynyen ("to neigh"), related to whine and ultimately imitative of a thin, prolonged cry. The verb is recorded from about 1500; the noun developed later.

Topics