donkey

donkey

English

Etymology

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). 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 (cf. rabbit).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdɒŋki/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdɑŋki/, /ˈdɔŋki/; (rare and nonstandard) /ˈdʌŋki/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒŋki
• Hyphenation: don‧key

Noun

Donkey

donkey (plural donkeys)

1. A domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar to a horse.
   • 1776 August 24, “[untitled]”, in Ipswich Journal‎, Ipswich, Suffolk, page 1:

     Lost last Saturday between twenty and thirty shillings they that have found it please to leave it heare there is five shillings reward by Wm. Roberts that goeth with a Donkey with many thanks

   • 1785, Anonymous [Francis Grose], A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue‎, London: S. Hooper:

     DONKEY, donkey dick, a he, or jack ass, called donkey, perhaps from the Spanish, or don like gravity of that animal, entitled also the king of Spain's trumpeter

   • 2013 November 17, Robert Frost, Delphi Collected Works of Robert Frost (Illustrated) (Delphi Poets Series)‎, Delphi Classics, →ISBN, OCLC 944240511:

     I vow we must be near the place from where
     The two converging slides, the avalanches,
     On Marshall, look like donkey's ears.
     We may as well see that and save the day.”
     “Don't donkey's ears suggest we shake our own?
     'For God's sake, aren't you fond of viewing nature? […]

2. A stubborn person.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:stubborn person

3. A fool.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fool

4. (nautical) A small auxiliary engine.

   Synonym: donkey engine

5. (naval slang, dated) A box or chest, especially a toolbox.
6. (poker slang) A bad poker player.

Hyponyms

• jack
• jackass
• jenny

Derived terms

• Balkan donkey
• dead donkey
• donkey bid
• donkey boiler
• donkey cock
• donkeycock, donkeydick
• donkey dick
• donkey drop
• donkey ears
• donkey engine
• donkey fringe
• donkey jacket
• donkey kong
• donkey orchid
• donkey pump
• donkey punch
• donkey-punch
• donkey rhubarb
• donkey's ears
• donkey's eye
• donkeyshit
• donkey shoe
• donkey show
• donkey stool
• donkey’s years
• donkey vote
• donkey voter
• donkey work
• heavy as a dead donkey
• hung like a donkey
• nodding donkey
• pin the tail on the donkey
• Spanish donkey
• suck donkey balls
• suck donkey cock
• suck donkey dick
• talk the ears off a donkey
• talk the hind leg off a donkey
• talk the hind legs off a donkey
• up goes the donkey

 

Descendants

• → Afrikaans: donkie
• → Northern Sotho: tonki
• → Tok Pisin: donki
• → Urdu: ڈَنْکی‎ (ḍaṅkī)

Translations

a domestic animal — See also translations at ass

Abkhaz: аҽада (aĉada) Adyghe: щыды (śədə) Afar: danán m Afrikaans: donkie (af) Akkadian: 𒀲 m (imēru) Albanian: gomar (sq) m, magar m Amharic: አህያ (äheyya) Andi: гьаморохи (hamoroxi) Arabic: حِمَار‎ (ar) m (ḥimār) Egyptian Arabic: حمار‎ m (ḥumār, ḥmār) Iraqi Arabic: زمال‎ m (zmāl) Gulf Arabic: حمار‎ m (ḥmār) Tunisian Arabic: بهيم‎ m (bhīm) Moroccan Arabic: حمار‎ m (ḥmār), حمارة‎ f (ḥmāra), دحش‎ (daḥš) (♂ offspring), دحشة‎ f (daḥša) (♀ offspring) Aramaic: Classical Syriac: ܚܡܪܐ‎ c (ḥəmārā), ܚܡܪܬܐ‎ f (ḥəmārtā), ܐܬܢܐ‎ f (ʾăṯānā) Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: חֲמָרָא‎ m (ḥămārā) Armenian: էշ (hy) (ēš), ավանակ (hy) (avanak) Aromanian: cãci, dãngã, gumar, dãnglãrã, shonj, tãronj, uci, uricljat, tar Assamese: গাধ (gadh) Asturian: burru (ast) m, burra (ast) f, pollín (ast) m Atong (India): gada Avar: хӏама (ḥʳama) Awadhi: गदहा m (gadhā) Azerbaijani: eşşək (az), ulaq Baluchi: ہر‎ (har) Bashkir: ишәк (işäk) Basque: asto (eu) Bau Bidayuh: kaldei Belarusian: асёл m (asjól) Bengali: গাধা (bn) (gadha) Breton: azen (br) m Budukh: лем (lem) Bulgarian: мага́ре (bg) n (magáre), осе́л (bg) m (osél) (dated) Burmese: မြည်း (my) (mrany:) Buryat: элжэгэн (elžegen) Catalan: ase (ca) m, somera (ca) f, burro (ca) m, burra (ca) f, ruc (ca) m, ruca (ca) f Central Melanau: keledai Chechen: вир (vir) Cherokee: ᏗᎦᎵᏅᎯᏛ (digalinvhidv) Cheyenne: a'éevo'ha Chichewa: bulu Chickasaw: haksibish falaa' Chinese: Cantonese: 驢, 驴 (leoi4), 驢仔, 驴仔 (leoi4 zai2) Dungan: лү (lü) Hakka: 驢仔, 驴仔 (lì-è) Mandarin: 驢／驴 (zh) (lǘ), 驢子／驴子 (zh) (lǘzi) Min Dong: 驢, 驴 (lè̤) Min Nan: 驢 (zh-min-nan), 驴 (lîr / lû / lî), 驢仔 (zh-min-nan), 驴仔 (lû-á / lî-á / lîr-á) Wu: 驢, 驴 (ly, lu) Chuukese: tongki Chuvash: ашак (aš̬ak) Coptic: ⲉⲱ (eō) Crimean Tatar: eşek Czech: osel (cs) m Dalmatian: samur m Danish: æsel (da) n Dhivehi: ހިާމރު‎ Dutch: ezel (nl) m Eastern Mari: осёл (osël) Egyptian: (ꜥꜣ m) Elfdalian: åsn f Esperanto: azeno (eo) Estonian: eesel (et) Ewe: tedzi n Faroese: asni Finnish: aasi (fi) French: âne (fr) m Friulian: mus Galician: asno (gl), burro (gl) Ge'ez: አድግ (ʾädg) Georgian: ვირი (ka) (viri), ჯორი (ǯori) (dialectal) German: Esel (de) m; Grauchen (de) n (diminutive, pet form), Grautier n (humorous) Gothic: 𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌿𐍃 (asilus) Greek: γάιδαρος (el) m (gáidaros), γαϊδούρα (el) f (gaïdoúra), γαϊδούρι (el) n (gaïdoúri), όνος (el) m or f (ónos) (formal, archaic) Ancient: ὄνος m or f (ónos) Greenlandic: siutitooq Gujarati: ગધેડો (gadheḍo) Hausa: jaki (ha) Hebrew: חֲמוֹר‎ (he) m (khamór), אָתוֹן‎ (he) f (atón) Hindi: गधा (hi) m (gadhā) Hungarian: szamár (hu) Icelandic: asni (is) Ido: asno (io) Indonesian: keledai (id) Ingush: вир (vir) Interlingua: asino Irish: asal (ga) m Istriot: samèri m pl Italian: asino (it) m, somaro (it) m, buricco m, ciuco (it) Japanese: 驢馬 (ja) (ろば, roba), ロバ (ja) (roba) Kabyle: aɣyul m Kalmyk: элҗгн (eljgn) Kambaata: harreta Kannada: ಕತ್ತೆ (kn) (katte) Karachay-Balkar: эшек (eşek) Kashmiri: خَر‎ m (khar) Kashubian: osoł m, òseł Kazakh: есек (kk) (esek) Khmer: សត្វលា (sat liə), លា (km) (liə) Korean: 당나귀 (ko) (dangnagwi), 나귀 (ko) (nagwi) Kriol: ginggong ginggong Kurdish: Central Kurdish: کەر‎ (ku) (ker) Northern Kurdish: ker (ku) m Kyrgyz: эшек (ky) (eşek) Ladin: gherdëina: musciat m badiot: müsc m fascian: èsen m,musciat m Lao: ລາ (lā), ມ້າລໍ (mā lǭ) Latin: asellus, asinus m Latvian: ēzelis m Laz: ეშეღი (eşeği) Lezgi: лам (lam) Ligurian: ase Limburgish: aezel (li) Lithuanian: asilas (lt) m Low German: Esel (nds) m Luo: punda Luxembourgish: Iesel m Lü: ᩃᩣ Macedonian: магаре n (magare) Malay: Jawi: کلداي‎, حمار‎ Rumi: keldai (ms), himar Malayalam: കഴുത (ml) (kaḻuta) Maltese: ħmar m Manchu: ᡝᡳᡥᡝᠨ (eihen) Manx: assyl m Maori: kāihe Marathi: गाढव (mr) m (gāḍhav) Mingrelian: გირინი (girini) Mirandese: please add this translation if you can Moksha: ишме (išme) Mon: ချး (mnw) Mongolian: илжиг (mn) (ilžig) Navajo: télii Neapolitan: ciuccio Norman: âne m Northern Sami: ásen Norwegian: esel (no) n Occitan: ase (oc), asne (oc) m Old Church Slavonic: Cyrillic: осьлъ m (osĭlŭ) Old East Slavic: осьлъ m (osĭlŭ) Old English: esol m Old French: asne m Oriya: ଗଧ (or) (gôdhô) Oromo: harree (om) Ossetian: хӕрӕг (xæræg) Ottoman Turkish: اشك‎ (eşek) Pali: gadrabha m Pashto: خر‎ (ps) m (xar) Persian: خر‎ (fa) (xar), الاغ‎ (fa) (olâğ) Plautdietsch: Äsel m Polabian: asål m Polish: osioł (pl) m, oślica (pl) f (female) Portuguese: asno (pt) m, jerico (pt) m, jegue (pt) m, jumento (pt) m, burro (pt) m Punjabi: ਗਧਾ (gadhā) Quechua: wuru, asnu Romani: magari m, magarka f Romanian: măgar (ro) m, asin (ro) m Romansch: asen Russian: осёл (ru) m (osjól), осли́ца (ru) f (oslíca) (female), иша́к (ru) m (išák) Saho: zanan Samoan: asini Sanskrit: गर्दभ (sa) m (gardabha) Sardinian: burriccu, molenti, molingianu, àinu Campidanese: àinu, bestiolu, molènti, bistrassu Logudorese: poleddu, polléddu, pulléddu, àinu, àinu Scots: cuddie Scottish Gaelic: asal f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ма̀гарац m, то̀вар m Roman: màgarac (sh) m, tòvar (sh) m Sicilian: sceccu (scn) m Sidamo: harre Sindhi: گڏھ‎ (gaḋahu) Sinhalese: බූරුවා (si) (būruwā) Slovak: somár m, osol (sk) m Slovene: osel (sl) m, oslica f Somali: dameer (so) m Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: ezel m, wósoł m Upper Sorbian: wosoł m Sotho: tonki (st) Southern Altai: эштек (eštek) Spanish: asno (es) m, burro (es) m, jumento (es) Sumerian: 𒀲 (ANŠE) Swahili: punda (sw) Swedish: åsna (sv) Tagalog: asno (tl), buriko Tajik: хар (tg) (xar) Tamil: கழுதை (ta) (kaḻutai) Taos: mùldu’úna Tatar: ишәк (tt) (işäk) Telugu: గాడిద (te) (gāḍida) Thai: ลา (th) (laa) Tibetan: བོང་བུ (bong bu) Tigrinya: ኣድጊ (ʾadgi) Tocharian B: kercapo Tok Pisin: donki, esel Turkish: eşek (tr), merkep (tr), sıpa (tr) (offspring) Turkmen: eşek Tuvan: элчиген (elçigen) Udi: елем (elem) Udmurt: ишак (išak), осёл (osjol) Ukrainian: осе́л m (osél), віслю́к m (visljúk), іша́к m (išák) Urdu: گدھا‎ m (gadhā) Uyghur: ئېشەك‎ (ëshek) Uzbek: eshak (uz) Venetian: muso (vec) m, àxeno (vec) m Vietnamese: lừa (vi) Volapük: cuk (vo) Wakhi: xur Walloon: ågne (wa) m or f, bådet (wa) m, både (wa) f, bourike (wa) f (♂♀), ågntea (wa) m (♂♀ offspring) Welsh: asyn m West Coast Bajau: keribas West Frisian: ezel Wolof: mbaam-sëf mi, mbaam-sëf Xhosa: imbongolo Yakut: осёл (osyol) Yiddish: אייזל‎ m (eyzl), חמור‎ m (khamer) Yoruba: kẹ́tẹ́kẹ́tẹ́ Zazaki: her (diq) Zulu: imbongolo, udonki Zuni: moshok'o

a stubborn person

Armenian: էշ (hy) (ēš) Bulgarian: инат (bg) m (inat) Dutch: (please verify) ezel (nl) m, (please verify) koppige ezel m Finnish: aasi (fi) Galician: asno (gl) German: Esel (de) m Greek: γάιδαρος (el) m (gáidaros), μουλάρι (el) n (moulári) Gujarati: ગધેડો (gadheḍo) Kannada: ಕತ್ತೆ (kn) (katte) Laz: ეშეღი (eşeği) Macedonian: магаре n (magare) Persian: کلّه خر‎ (fa) (kalle xar), کلّه سخت‎ (kalle saxt), سر سخت‎ (sar saxt) Polish: osioł (pl) m Portuguese: jumento (pt) m, jumenta f, asno (pt) m, jegue (pt) m, burro (pt) m Russian: осёл (ru) m (osjól) Sicilian: sceccu (scn) m Slovak: somár m, osol (sk) m Spanish: burro (es) Swahili: punda (sw) Walloon: bådet (wa) m, moulet (wa) m, tiestou (wa) m, tiestowe f

a fool

Arabic: حِمَار‎ (ar) m (ḥimār) Gulf Arabic: حمار‎ m (ḥmār) Armenian: էշ (hy) (ēš) Assamese: গাধ (gadho) Bengali: গাধা (bn) (gadha) Czech: osel (cs) m Dutch: (please verify) ezel (nl) m, (please verify) domme ezel m Finnish: aasi (fi) French: âne (fr) m Galician: burro (gl) German: Esel (de) m Greek: γάιδαρος (el) m (gáidaros), γαϊδούρι (el) n (gaïdoúri) Hebrew: חֲמוֹר‎ (he) m (khamór) Hindi: गधा (hi) m (gadhā) Hungarian: szamár (hu), ökör (hu) Italian: asino (it) m Kurdish: Central Kurdish: کەر‎ (ku) (ker) Macedonian: магаре n (magare) Persian: هالو‎ (fa) (hâlu) Polish: osioł (pl) m Portuguese: jumento (pt) m, jumenta f, asno (pt) m, jegue (pt) m, burro (pt) m Russian: осёл (ru) m (osjól) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ма̀гарац m Roman: màgarac (sh) m Slovak: somár m, osol (sk) m Slovene: osel (sl) m Spanish: burro (es) m Swahili: punda (sw) Urdu: گدھا‎ m (gadhā)

a small auxiliary engine

Finnish: apumoottori (fi) Italian: muletto (it) m Spanish: locomotora pequeña f, motor auxiliar m Swahili: punda (sw)

See also

• ass
• mule
• hinny

References

• (box or chest): 1930, Naval Review (London) (volume 18, page 592)

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “donkey”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “donkey”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.