Skip to main content
muley

muley

9.9
An animal with a donkey father and a horse mother
  • noun
  • /ˈmjuːli/
  • UK
translation icon : mulo
  • They trained a sturdy muley to carry supplies up the mountain during the expedition.

Examples

  • A muley is often valued for its strength and endurance in rural communities.

  • The farmer raised a muley to help with the heavy work.

  • The farmer relied on his muley to help plow the fields every spring.

  • I saw a muley at the county fair last summer.

  • The farmer explained that a muley is a hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.

  • During the livestock show, they displayed a rare muley that caught everyone's attention.

  • I learned that a muley can be a strong and reliable animal for farm work.

Synonyms

mule
vsmuley
98 3.7

An animal born from a male donkey and a female horse that is usually unable to have babies

is a regional dialect name for the same hybrid term
mulita
vsmuley
  • US
9.9

A young animal whose parents are a male donkey and a female horse

is the general adult hybrid term rather than focusing on youth
moyle
vsmuley
  • Archaic
9.9

A strong animal like a mule that carries loads for people

is the common regional name rather than an archaic or formal word

Surface Forms

muley singular
muleys plural

Morphology

muley = mule (transparent) = mule + y

A dialectal/colloquial variant formed from 'mule' with the common '-y' ending; meaning equals the base word and is predictable.

Etymology

Muley used for the hybrid animal comes from mule with -y, so a muley is simply 'like a mule'—the strong offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. That is why people call a working, sturdy animal a muley.