donkey
[dong-kee, dawng-, duhng-]
- the domestic ass, Equus asinus.
- (since 1874) a representation of this animal as the emblem of the U.S. Democratic Party.
- a stupid, silly, or obstinate person.
- a woodworking apparatus consisting of a clamping frame and saw, used for cutting marquetry veneers.
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- Machinery. auxiliary: donkey engine; donkey pump; donkey boiler.
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Origin of donkey
1775–85; perhaps alteration of Dunkey, hypocoristic form of Duncan, man's name
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for donkey
Contemporary Examples
In the second instance, it is a man and his wife pleading from atop a donkey.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in IraqNathan Bradley Bethea
August 31, 2014
He patrolled on foot, and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) filled the donkey paths that crisscrossed the wadis and hills.
For the donkeys who have long felt that Donkey Ball should not be real, 2014 earns an A-.
He was painting the Sistine Chapel, and he was angry at one of the bishops or cardinals, so he painted him in with donkey ears.
The second page of the Power Point is headlined “Politics” and features two photographs—an elephant and a donkey.
The Nature of the Beast: The Breathless Press and the Phony IRS ‘Scandal’Michael Tomasky
July 17, 2013
Historical Examples
The Leopard Woman sat her donkey, and surveyed it all with appreciative eyes.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
"It's Charley Channing that's the donkey; not me," cried Tod, fiercely.
The ChanningsMrs. Henry Wood
The symbol of that influence was that ancient symbol of the humble and humorous—a donkey.
Alarms and DiscursionsG. K. Chesterton
When first I saw the donkey I saw him in the sunlight as the unearthly gargoyle that he is.
Alarms and DiscursionsG. K. Chesterton
"Well, we had some fun with the donkey, anyhow," put in Ned.
Frank Roscoe's SecretAllen Chapman
donkey
- Also called: ass a long-eared domesticated member of the horse family (Equidae), descended from the African wild ass (Equus asinus)
- a stupid or stubborn person
- British slang, derogatory a footballer known for his or her lack of skillthe players are a bunch of overpriced and overrated donkeys
- talk the hind leg(s) off a donkey to talk endlessly
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Word Origin
C18: perhaps from dun dark + -key, as in monkey
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for donkey
n.
1785, originally slang, perhaps a diminutive from dun "dull gray-brown," the form perhaps influenced by monkey. Or possibly from a familiar form of Duncan (cf. dobbin). The older English word was ass (n.1).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
donkey
A symbol (see also symbol) of the Democratic party, introduced in a series of political cartoons by Thomas Nast during the congressional elections of 1874. (Compare elephant.)
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.