Don"key (?), n.; pl. Donkeys (#). [Prob. dun, in allusion to the color of the animal + a dim. termination.]
1.
An ass; or (less frequently) a mule.
2.
A stupid or obstinate fellow; an ass.
Donkey engine, a small auxiliary engine not used for propelling, but for pumping water into the boilers, raising heavy weights, and like purposes. -- Donkey pump, a steam pump for feeding boilers, extinguishing fire, etc.; -- usually an auxiliary. -- Donkey's eye Bot., the large round seed of the Mucuna pruriens, a tropical leguminous plant.
© Webster 1913.