Jennets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small horse that is typically agile and is often used for riding or light work
2. An animal of the Equus caballus species, known for its endurance and suitability for various equestrian activities
3. A term referring to nimble and spirited equines, particularly favored for their compact size and friendly disposition

Etymology: Jennets are the plural of "jennet," and the singular has a more striking backstory than its meaning suggests. It passed into English through Old French "genet" and Old Spanish or Catalan "ginete," which named a small, fast horse and also a light horseman. Those forms were borrowed from Andalusian Arabic "zanātī," a reference to the Zenata, a group of Berber peoples of North Africa who were known as excellent horse breeders. So a name for a people became a name for a kind of horse. The Zenata's reputation for horsemanship travelled with the word into Iberia and then northward, and "jennet" settled into English in the Late Middle English period as a term for a small, spirited Spanish-type horse. The word is a doublet of "Zenati," meaning the two forms descend from the same source but reached English along different routes.

Synonyms: mares, female horses