hinny

[hin-ee]

noun, plural hin·nies.

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

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for hinny

Historical Examples of hinny

Beggars dinna work, hinny, said he—but do not be in a passion.
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 19
Various
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
And oh, hinny, but your mother had been a weel-faured woman in her day!
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland
Various
And who tould the like of ye, how to make a brum like that, hinny?
Adle Dubois
Mrs. William T. Savage
The difference between the mule and the hinny would seem to be explicable on this supposition.
The Making of Species
Douglas Dewar

British Dictionary definitions for hinny

hinny

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

hinny

verb -nies, -nying or -nied

a less common word for whinny

hinny

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

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

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