hinny
Americannoun
-
hinnies
plural
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hinny
First recorded in 1680–90; obsolete hinne (from Latin hinnus; akin to Greek gínnos “mule”) + -y 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
This worthy farm and sanctuary is home to 19 assorted equines — including three mares and their foals saved from slaughter, two rescued mustangs, plus mini-horses, mini-donkeys, a hinny and a mule.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 5, 2018
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, and a hinny is the offspring of a male horse and female donkey.
From New York Times ● Oct. 31, 2016
When a female horse and a male donkey mate, they produce a longer-eared, thin-maned mule; a male horse and a female donkey typically generate a smaller, shorter-eared hinny.
From The New Yorker ● May 2, 2016
Life is going to be hard enough, but then they go and call you a hinny and you’ve got that “Boy Named Sue” thing going too.
From Time ● Mar. 13, 2014
O Peter, hinny, could ye only come hame—did you only ken what sleepless nights I spend on your account, ye wad leave America as soon as ye get my letter.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Vol. XX by Alexander Leighton
Mules are bred far more often than hinnies because male donkey/female horse pairings are about as successful as horses breeding with horses, a rate of about 65 percent.
From New York Times ● Oct. 31, 2016
Mules and hinnies can be male or female, but are almost always infertile.
From New York Times ● Oct. 31, 2016
Fat rascals are not dissimilar to singing hinnies and were added to represent the lesser-spotted but very much included male members of the group.
From The Guardian ● May 8, 2013
"Gang awa, ane o' ye, hinnies, up to the heugh head, and gie them a cry in case they're within hearing; the car-cakes will be burnt to a cinder."
From The Antiquary — Volume 02 by Sir Walter Scott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
