hinny

[ hin-ee ]

/ ˈhɪn i /

noun, plural hin·nies.

the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey.Compare mule¹(defs 1, 2).

Nearby words

Origin of hinny

1680–90; obsolete hinne (< Latin hinnus; akin to Greek gínnos mule) + -y²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hinny

The body and barrel, however, of the hinny are flat and narrow, in which it differs from the horse and resembles the she ass.
The Principles of Breeding|S. L. Goodale
The mule is the progeny of the male ass and the mare; the hinny that of the horse and the she ass.
The Principles of Breeding|S. L. Goodale
But ye're just like a' the women, hinny—their outcry is aye about expense and danger.
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland|Various
The hinny of Jeanette echoed wildly from the cliffs, and was answered by the bark and howl of the prairie-wolf.
The Boy Hunters|Captain Mayne Reid

But cross ambition with contentment and you get the hinny of indifference or the monster of fatalism.
The Book of Khalid|Ameen Rihani

British Dictionary definitions for hinny

hinny

/ (ˈhɪnɪ) /

noun plural -nies

the sterile hybrid offspring of a male horse and a female donkey or assCompare mule 1 (def. 1)

Word Origin for hinny

C17: from Latin hinnus, from Greek hinnos

verb -nies, -nying or -nied

a less common word for whinny

noun

Scot and Northern English dialect a term of endearment, esp for a woman or child

Word Origin for hinny

variant of honey

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 hinny

hinny

"offspring of a stallion and a she-ass," 1680s, from Latin hinnus, from Greek innos, ginnos, of unknown origin.

hinny

"to neigh," c.1400, of imitative origin.