Question 1 · Quick check
donkey
CEFRA2
/ˈdɒŋ.ki/
noun
Türkçe translations
Translating…
In plain English
- 01
noun
An animal like a small horse, often used for carrying loads.
- 02
noun
Extra detailA stubborn person.
Examples
He insulted me by calling me a donkey.
That is not a horse, but a donkey.
At a glance
Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale
- Senses
- 5
- Parts of speech
- 1
- Citations
- 4
- Synonyms
- 5
Deep Dive
noun
Extra meaningsA domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar to a horse.
A small auxiliary engine.
A bad poker player.
More examples
In contextDONKEY, 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
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
The chest may be found among those who stick to the sailing vessels, but for the steamer, the donkey died its natural death when the Suez Canal—responsible for many changes at sea—became an accomplished fact.
Related
Quick test
Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.
Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.
Nearby
Origin
noun
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 and rabbit).