The definition of jennet varies depending on location and on the antiquity of the usage. It may mean a small Spanish horse, a female donkey, or a hybrid produced by a male horse and a female donkey, the opposite of the traditional mule-producing pairing of a female horse with a male donkey. Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Binomial name Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758 The donkey or jackass, Equus asinus, is a domesticated animal of the horse family, Equidae. ... // In biology, hybrid has two meanings. ... A barren of mules. ...

Spanish origin of the term

According to the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, jennet referred to a small Spanish horse and was sometimes applied in English to a mule, "the offspring of a she-ass and a stallion." Although the 2000 edition of the American Heritage Dictionary also defines jennet, with the alternative spelling genet, as a small Spanish saddle horse, this is meaning is rarely used in Modern English. Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A barren of mules. ... The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (AHD) is a dictionary of American English published by Boston publisher Houghton-Mifflin, the first edition of which appeared in 1969. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

In the etymology provided by the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, jennet is derived from the French genet, from Spanish jinete, a light horseman who rides a la gineta, explained as "with his legs tucked up." The term is taken to be a corruption of the Arabic Zenata, a Berber tribe famed for its cavalry. English and French transferred the word from the rider to the horse, a meaning which the word has only acquired in Spain in modern times. The American Heritage Dictionary's etymology is similar, citing the Middle English genet, from Old French, from the Catalan ginet, of Arabic or Berber origin.[1] Not to be confused with Entomology, the study of insects. ... The Arabic language ( ), or simply Arabic ( ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ... The Zenata are one of the main divisions of the medieval Berbers, along with Senhaja and Masmuda. ... The Berbers (also called Amazigh people or Imazighen, free men, singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. ... Soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat are commonly known as cavalry (from French cavalerie). ... Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of 1066 and the mid-to-late 15th century, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the... Catalan in Europe Catalan IPA: (català ) is a Romance language, the official language of Andorra and co-official in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Valencia (under the name Valencian) and Catalonia. ... The Arabic language ( ), or simply Arabic ( ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ... The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ...

Contemporary meanings in United Kingdom versus North America

In contemporary North American usage, jennet and jenney or jenny refer to a female donkey, as a female horse would be called a mare. A female mule is not called a jennet; she is properly called a mare mule. A female hinny is not called a jennet either; she is called a mare hinny. However, in the United Kingdom, jennet refers to what fanciers in the United States call a hinny. In the United Kingdom, a female donkey is not called a jennet; she is either called a mare or a jenny, and a male donkey is called a stallion rather than a jack or jackass [2] although the term jack is gaining greater usage. In either case, hinny (in the U.S.) or jennet (in the UK) refers to a type of mule. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... A hinny is the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey (jennet or jenny). ... A barren of mules. ...

Zoologists may casually use mule to refer to many kinds of sterile hybrids. However, among the general public, the term is understood to refer to a hybrid of horse and donkey. Such hybrids are usually, but not always, sterile. Among farmers and animal fanciers, mule is specifically understood to be the offspring of a male donkey, often called a jackass, and a female horse. The opposite pairing, the female donkey with the male horse, produces a mule in the general sense, but which is specifically identified as a jennet, jenney, or jenny in the UK and a hinny in the U.S. Zoology (Greek zoon = animal and logos = word) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ... Farmer spreading grasshopper bait in his alfalfa field. ...

As horses are much larger than donkeys, it is easier for a female horse to successfully carry and deliver the hybrid than it is for the much smaller female donkey. Although there are genetic and behavioral reasons as well, the size difference is the traditional reason cited to explain the relative rarity of hinnies in comparison to mules. Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Binomial name Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758 The donkey or jackass, Equus asinus, is a domesticated animal of the horse family, Equidae. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... A hinny is the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey (jennet or jenny). ...

Jennet is also an old-English girl's name, derived originally from John. Jennet was the first name of the daughter of one of the Pendle Hill Witches.

See also

• African Wild Ass
• Donkey
• Hinny
• Horse
• Kiang
• Mule
• Onager

Binomial name Equus africanus Subspecies E. a. ... Binomial name Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758 The donkey or jackass, Equus asinus, is a domesticated animal of the horse family, Equidae. ... A hinny is the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey (jennet or jenny). ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Binomial name Equus kiang , The Kiang (Equus kiang) is a large mammal belonging to the horse family. ... A barren of mules. ... Binomial name Equus hemionus Pallas, 1775 The Onager (Equus hemionus) is a large mammal belonging to the horse family and native to the deserts of Syria, Iran, India, and Tibet. ...

External links

• American Donkey and Mule Society
• LongearsMall.com – Online Donkey & Mule Community and Resource Directory

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...