Hinny

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈhɪ.ni/

Definitions

1. The offspring of a male horse and a female donkey, typically smaller than a mule with different physical characteristics
2. A hybrid animal resulting from the breeding of a male horse and a female donkey, which usually exhibits unique traits compared to mules
3. An animal that is produced by crossing a stallion and a jenny, often recognized for its distinct size and features

Etymology: The hinny's name is a sound before it is a creature. Its Latin ancestor "hinnus" comes from Ancient Greek "ínnos" or "gínnos", and it is possibly related to the Latin verb "hinnire", meaning "to whinny", so the animal was named for the noise its kind makes. A hinny is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, the reverse of the mule, which is why it is often described as a smaller and less common cousin of that more familiar hybrid. English shows the same imitative instinct from another direction. The word is generally traced to an alteration of "whinny", itself an onomatopoeic formation for a horse's call, so the hinny's name and the horse's voice share a single imitative root in English. Its spelling and sound were then shaped by the Latin and Greek forms that stand behind it.

Synonyms: hybrid, crossbreed