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Glite Dictionary
Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong

11 3.5
A 1981 arcade game about a large ape and also the ape's name
  • proper noun
  • /ˈdɔŋki kɔŋ/
: Donkey Kong
  • I said this is Billy Mitchell, who famously beat a contender for the top Donkey Kong scorer in the world.
  • Donkey Kong 64

And the game that I spent my entire childhood playing, Donkey Kong.

Examples

  • If you've played Mario vs. Donkey Kong: March of the Minis.

    Blog text (11)

  • Donkey Kong debuted in the United States in 1981 and features a girl-crazy ape who slings barrels.

    Blog text (23)

  • And at some point held a high score for Donkey Kong and and runs his hot sauce company course.

  • Don't touch Donkey Kong 64.

    Blog text (11)

  • The Slag also mentions Donkey Kong 64, and everyone knows that game was completely terrible.

    Blog text (11)

  • In the classic arcade game Donkey Kong, players must navigate platforms while avoiding barrels.

  • The character Donkey Kong is known for his iconic role in video gaming history as a giant ape.

  • Many gamers fondly remember playing Donkey Kong at arcades during the 1980s.

Surface Forms

Donkey Kong main

Morphology

Donkey + Kong

This is a proper name/brand for a video game and character rather than a compositional phrase; the pairing of 'Donkey' and 'Kong' is idiosyncratic and culturally specific. Even if a learner knows the constituents, they would not be able to infer the sense 'classic arcade video game / character', so the expression is not derivable from its parts.

Etymology

Donkey Kong: One popular story says the game's creator chose donkey to mean 'stubborn' and Kong to mean 'big ape', so the name gives the clear image of a large, stubborn gorilla and explains the character in the game.