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jennet

or gen·et

[jen-it]
See more synonyms for jennet on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a female donkey.
  2. a small Spanish horse.
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Origin of jennet

1425–75; late Middle English < Middle French genet < Catalan, variant of ginet horse of the Zenete kind < Spanish Arabic zinētī, dialectal variant of zanātī pertaining to the Zenete tribe (of Berbers), after Zanātah the Zenetes
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for jennet

Historical Examples

  • Clare summoned Jennet, and took her own seat in the further window.

    Clare Avery

    Emily Sarah Holt

  • Be there any manner of irons, Jennet, for crisping or curling the hair?

    Clare Avery

    Emily Sarah Holt

  • Pouchskin, riding his great French jennet, had started in the advance.

    Bruin

    Mayne Reid

  • I had not an English horse there, so I bought that Andalusian jennet.

  • Get you upon your jennet, dame; and, Robin, do you show the way.

    Robin Hood

    Paul Creswick

British Dictionary definitions for jennet

jennet

genet or gennet

noun
  1. Also called: jenny a female donkey or ass
  2. a small Spanish riding horse
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Word Origin

C15: from Old French genet, from Catalan ginet, horse of the type used by the Zenete, from Arabic Zanātah the Zenete, a Moorish people renowned for their horsemanship
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 jennet

n.

"small Spanish horse," mid-15c., from French genet, from Spanish jinete "a light horseman," perhaps from Arabic Zenata, name of a Barbary tribe [Klein]. Sense transferred in English and French from the rider to the horse.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper