Wiktionary

mule

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mule"

English

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a mule

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English mule, from Anglo-Norman mule and Old English mūl, both from Latin mūlus, from Proto-Indo-European *mukslós. Compare Late Latin muscellus (“young he-mule”), Old East Slavic мъшкъ (mŭškŭ, “mule”), Ancient Greek (Phocian) μυχλός (mukhlós, “he-ass”), and German Maul Maultier, Maulesel (through Latin).

Noun

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mule (plural mules)

  2. The generally sterile male or female hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.
    • 2017, Robert S. McPherson, Cowboying In Canyon Country, Dog Ear Publishing, →ISBN, page 200:
      One day he ran into a herd of a half dozen elk, so he rode his mule down the canyon three or four miles, leaving the sheep alone.
  3. The generally sterile hybrid offspring of any two species of animals.
    • 1922, Onnie Warren Smith, The Book of the Pike, page 187:
      It would be exceedingly interesting to know if the hybrid would reproduce, a matter I deem exceedingly doubtful, for the chances are it would prove a "mule" (infertile).
  4. (now rare) A hybrid plant. [from 18th c.]
    • 1789, Erasmus Darwin, The Loves of the Plants, J. Johnson, page 149:
      Vegetable mules supply an irrefragable argument in favour of the sexual system of botany.
    • 1837, William Herbert, Amaryllidaceæ: Preceded by an Attempt to Arrange the Monocotyledonous Orders, and Followed by a Treatise on Cross-bred Vegetables, and Supplement, page 353:
      The most extraordinary mule, however, that is asserted to have been produced on the Continent, is a cross between the cabbage and horse-radish, which Monsieur Sageret reports that he has obtained […]
  5. (informal) A stubborn person.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:stubborn person
    • 2005, Dorothea Benton Frank, Isle of Palms, Penguin, →ISBN:
      "Where in the hell do you think I learned to be such a mule?”
  6. (slang) A person paid to smuggle drugs.
    Synonym: drug mule
    • 2006, “Gastroenterology: Esophageal Foreign Bodies”, in Steven E. Diaz, The Little Black Book of Emergency Medicine (Jones and Bartlett's Little Black Book Series), 2nd edition, Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, →ISBN, page 101:
      Cocaine packet ingestion (these patients referred to as “mules”) may warrant surgery, Golytely or expectant passage.
    • 2007, Thomas G. Blacklock, Safe Zone: A Novel Approach to the Drug War, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 44:
      “Yeah, in Denver, we know about Uriarte's involvement in meth. Our Las Cruces office seized over six hundred pounds of methamphetamine from two of his mules last year.”
  7. (numismatics) A coin or medal minted with obverse and reverse designs not normally seen on the same piece, either intentionally or in error.
    • 1988, Andrew Burnett, The Normanby hoard and other Roman coin hoards, British Museum Publications:
      What is less clear, however, is why mint workers should have chosen to produce mules, if they were making forgeries […]
  8. (roleplaying games) A MMORPG character, or NPC companion in a tabletop RPG, used mainly to store extra inventory for the owner's primary character.
    • 2007, David L. McClard, Verotopia Online: The MMORPG of the Century‎[1], Xlibris, →ISBN, page 89:
      He was in the middle of organizing his massive stash of rare and exquisite bounty, all kept safely in the inventory cache of a mule, an entirely separate character which he paid a monthly fee to maintain exclusively for that purpose.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:mule.
  9. Any of a group of cocktails involving ginger ale or ginger beer, citrus juice, and various liquors.
  10. (sailing) A kind of triangular sail for a yacht.
    • 1974, Yachting, volume 135, page 60:
      In heavier seas where a boat must sail a course dictated by waves, or where wave action makes power more important than pointing, the mule will prove the faster sail.
  11. A kind of cotton-spinning machine.
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • → Hawaiian: miula
  • → Irish: miúil
  • → Maori: miūru
Translations
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See also
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Verb

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mule (third-person singular simple present mules, present participle muling, simple past and past participle muled)

  1. (transitive, slang) To smuggle (illegal drugs).
    • 2000, Arturo Longoria, Keepers of the Wilderness:
      There are many drug lords, each with his own corridor (think of it as a franchise of sorts) funneling narcotics into Texas. There are multifold methods of transport. The old, and still viable, way is to "mule" it across the Rio Grande in a small boat.
    • 2004, William Glenn, The Sailor's Death:
      Thornton was supposed to mule it back to the States from one of the ports he stopped in, give it to Maxwell and Ames, and get the second half of a quarter-million.

Etymology 2

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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17th-century mule slipper
 
21st-century mule pump with a wedge heel

From Middle French mule (“backless slipper”), from Medieval Latin mula (“slipper, shoe with a thick sole”), presumably from classical Latin mulleus, the dyed shoe of either the patricians or senators, from mūllus (“red mullet”) + -eus (“-y: forming adjectives”), from Ancient Greek μύλλος (múllos).

Noun

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mule (plural mules)

  2. Any shoe with an upper covering the front of the foot but without a back flap or strap, leaving the heel exposed.
    Synonym: mule shoe
    • 1944, Emily Carr, “First Tenant”, in The House of All Sorts‎[2]:
      The bride was a shocking housekeeper and dragged round all day in boudoir cap, frowsy negligee and mules—slip, slop, slip, slop.
    • 1946, George Johnston, Skyscrapers in the Mist, page 29:
      Routine dress for Tuesday will be bra and panties with high-heel satin mules.
Translations
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Anagrams

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Ambonese Malay

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Etymology

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Unknown. Perhaps borrowed from Dutch smuilen.

Verb

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mule

  1. to smile
    Kalu dia bicara salalu mule.
    Every time he talks he smiles.

Noun

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mule

  1. smile

References

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  • D. Takaria, C. Pieter (1998) Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia‎[3], Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa

Danish

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /muːlə/, [ˈmuːlə]

Etymology 1

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From Old Norse múli, from Proto-Germanic *mūlô.

Noun

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mule c (singular definite mulen, plural indefinite muler)

  1. muzzle
Inflection
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Declension of mule
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative mule mulen muler mulerne
genitive mules mulens mulers mulernes

Etymology 2

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

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mule (imperative mul, infinitive at mule, present tense muler, past tense mulede, perfect tense har mulet)

  1. pommel, pummel, pound, lick
  2. sulk
Synonyms
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French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old French mule, from Latin mūla, feminine of mūlus.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mule f (plural mules)

  1. mule (animal)
  2. mule (footwear)
  3. mule (for drug smuggling)
    Synonym: bouletteux

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Galician

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Verb

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mule

  1. second-person singular imperative of mulir
  2. (reintegrationist norm) inflection of mulir:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Italian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈmu.le/
  • Rhymes: -ule
  • Hyphenation: mù‧le

Noun

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mule f

  1. plural of mula

Anagrams

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Latin

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Noun

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mūle

  1. vocative singular of mūlus

References

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Lower Sorbian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈmulɛ/, [ˈmulə]

Noun

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mule

  1. nominative/accusative plural of mul
  2. inflection of mula:
    1. genitive singular
    2. nominative/accusative plural

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Anglo-Norman mule, from Latin mūla, feminine of mūlus; reinforced by native Old English mūl, from the same Latin source.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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mule (plural mules)

  1. mule (donkey-horse hybrid)
  2. (rare) hinny
  3. (rare) idiot
Descendants
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References
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Etymology 2

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Noun

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mule

  1. Alternative form of mylne

Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology

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From Old Norse múli, from Proto-Germanic *mūlô.

Noun

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mule m (definite singular mulen, indefinite plural muler, definite plural mulene)

  1. muzzle

References

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Anagrams

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Old Norse múli, from Proto-Germanic *mūlô.

Noun

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mule m (definite singular mulen, indefinite plural mular, definite plural mulane)

  1. muzzle
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Etymology 2

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From Old Norse múli, from Proto-Germanic *mūlô. The verb is derived from the noun.

Verb

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mule (present tense mular, past tense mula, past participle mula, passive infinitive mulast, present participle mulande, imperative mule/mul)

  1. (intransitive) to pout

References

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Etymology 3

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Adjective

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mule

  1. (eye dialect spelling, Trøndelag) Alternative form of mogeleg (“possible”)

Anagrams

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Old English

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Noun

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mūle

  1. dative singular of mūl

Old Swedish

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Etymology

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From Old Norse múli, from Proto-Germanic *mūlô.

Noun

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mūle m

  1. muzzle

Declension

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Declension of mūle (weak an-stem)
masculine singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative mūle mūlen mūlar mūlarnir
accusative mūla mūlan mūla mūlana
dative mūla mūlanom mūlom mūlonom
genitive mūla mūlans mūla mūlanna

Descendants

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Polish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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mule

  1. locative/vocative singular of muł

Noun

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mule

  1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of mul

Noun

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mule

  1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of mula

Adjective

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mule

  1. inflection of muli:
    1. neuter nominative/accusative/vocative singular
    2. nonvirile nominative/accusative/vocative plural

Further reading

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  • mule in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Swedish

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Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv
 
en mule på en häst

Noun

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mule c

  1. a rhinarium (of an ungulate, like a cow, horse, or reindeer – the front of the upper lip, which is moist in cows and dry in horses and is usually either hairless or has a different type of hair compared to the rest of the muzzle)
    1. (closer in tone, as "mule" is not a technical-sounding word) a nose, a muzzle, tip of the snout
      • 1949, “Rudolf med röda mulen”, Eric Sandström (lyrics), Johnny Marks (music)‎[4]:
        Rudolf med röda mulen, hette en helt vanlig ren, som blivit kall om mulen, därav kom dess röda sken. Rudolf fick alltid höra: "Se, han har sitt dimljus på!" Att han blev led åt detta, är en sak man kan förstå. Men en mörk julaftonskväll, tomtefar han sa: "Vill du inte Rudolf, säg, med din mule lysa mig?" Allt sen den dagen renen, tomtens egen släde drar. Rudolf med röda mulen, lyser väg åt tomtefar.
        Rudolf with the red nose, was the name of a [completely] ordinary reindeer, who had gotten a cold nose [had become cold about/around the nose], thence [thereof] came its red glow. Rudolf always got to hear: "Look, he has his fog light on!" That he got tired of this, is something one can understand. But one dark Christmas Eve night, Santa Claus, he said: "Don't you want to, Rudolf, say, with your nose, light my way [light me]?" Ever since that day the reindeer, Santa's own sleigh pulls. Rudolf with the red nose, lights Santa Claus's way [lights way for Santa Claus].
      • 1962, Gullan Bornemark (lyrics and music), “Min ponny”, in Gumman i lådan‎[5]:
        På fyra ben går den som jag gillar allra bäst. Gillar, gillar, gillar allra mest. Jag sitter på hans rygg för det är min lilla häst. Är min lilla häst. Vad du är söt, min kära lilla ponny. Vad du är snäll, min kära lilla häst. Du säger ingenting, min kära lilla ponny, men du är den jag gillar bäst! Se pälsen den är svart liksom kappan på en präst. Kappan, kappan, kappan på en präst. En mule mjuk som sammet, det har min lilla häst. Har min lilla häst. Vad du är ... [as before]. Min ponny vet så väl att på lördag är det fest. Lördag, lördag, lördag är det fest. En krubba full med havre, det får min lilla häst. Får min lilla häst. Vad du är ... [as before]. Av allting här i världen, jag önskar allra mest – önskar, önskar, önskar allra mest – att aldrig jag ska skiljas ifrån min lilla häst. Från min lilla häst. Vad du är söt ... [as before]
        On four legs walks the one that I like the very most [best]. Like the, like the, like the very most. I sit on his back because it is my little horse. Is my little horse. How cute you are, my dear little pony. How kind you are, my dear little horse. You don't say anything [or, "you say nothing" – both are idiomatically expressed the same way], my dear little pony, but you're the one I like the most [best]! Look, the coat [fur] is black like the coat of [on] a priest. The coat, the coat, the coat of [on] a priest. A nose as soft as velvet, [that] has my little horse. Has my little horse. How cute you ... [as before]. My pony knows so well that on Saturday there is a party ["on Saturday there is party" – implies every Saturday here]. Saturday, Saturday, Saturday there is a party. A manger full of oats, [that] gets my little horse. Gets my little horse. How cute you ... [as before]. Out of everything [here] in the world, I wish the very most – wish the, wish the, wish the very most – that never I shall be parted from my little horse ["ska" usually doesn't match "shall" in tone, but the phrasing here is pretty literary anyway]. From my little horse. How cute you ... [as before]

Declension

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Declension of mule
nominative genitive
singular indefinite mule mules
definite mulen mulens
plural indefinite mular mulars
definite mularna mularnas

See also

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References

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Volapük

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Noun

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mule

  1. dative singular of mul
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