donkey
part of speech
noun (a donkey, donkeys)
meaning for a pupil
1) An animal like a small horse with long ears and a loud bray, used to carry loads or give rides. tree →
2) (informal, mildly rude) A silly or stupid person: Don't be a donkey! tree →
3) «donkey's years» (UK, informal) = a very long time. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science donkeys are mammals related to horses; in stories they carry loads and are stubborn; on British beaches children ride donkeys; in maths problems donkeys have 4 legs and carry loads. Phrases: «donkey ride», «donkey work» (dull hard work), «donkey's years», «stubborn as a donkey».
examples
- We had a donkey ride on the beach. tree →
- The donkey carried bags of rice up the hill. tree →
- A donkey says «hee-haw». tree →
- I haven't seen her in donkey's years. tree →
- Who does all the donkey work around here? tree →
- Three donkeys have 12 legs altogether. tree →
- You silly donkey, you've put your shoes on the wrong feet! tree →
- ‘Here on the shoulders of a donkey.’ tree →
note
Plural «donkeys» (not donkies: a vowel before y, so just add -s). A male is a jack, a female a jenny; a young one a foal. A mule is half donkey, half horse. Myth: donkeys are not stupid; they are careful and clever.
In the corpora
- Donkeys bray to call other donkeys, and the sound can carry about 3 kilometres across their desert homeland.
- Donkey coats are not waterproof like horses' coats, so donkeys need shelter from the rain.
- Donkeys form strong friendships and can become very upset if their friend is taken away.
- Donkeys often live 30 to 40 years and some reach 50, longer than most horses.
- Donkeys love to roll in dust, which scratches itches, cleans the coat and keeps off flies.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «donkey» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.