donkey

/ˈdɑŋki/

/ˈdɒŋki/

Other forms: donkeys

A donkey is a four-legged domesticated farm animal with hooves that's related to the horse. Donkeys are known for the braying sound they make and their long ears.

Farmers often keep donkeys for pulling carts, carrying heavy loads, or even for guarding flocks of sheep. In some places, donkeys are ridden like horses or kept as calming companions for nervous horses. The word donkey was first used as slang for the animal then only called an ass. It was probably modeled after monkey, with which it originally rhymed, from dun, or "a grayish brown color."

Definitions of donkey

1. noun

   domestic beast of burden descended from the African wild ass; patient but stubborn
   synonyms: Equus asinus, domestic ass

   types:

   burro

   small donkey used as a pack animal

   moke

   British informal for donkey

   type of:

   ass

   hardy and sure-footed animal smaller and with longer ears than the horse
2. noun

   the symbol of the Democratic Party; introduced in cartoons by Thomas Nast in 1874
   type of:

   allegory, emblem

   a visible symbol representing an abstract idea