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donkey

Pronunciation: /ˈdɒŋ.ki/

The English word “donkey” has 7 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar to a horse.
  2. A stubborn person.
  3. A fool.
  4. A small auxiliary engine.
  5. A box or chest, especially a toolbox.
  6. A bad poker player.
  7. A sailor's storage chest.

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), or similarly formed from the given name Duncan. Compare…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.