A Jackass Is a Male Donkey
Jackass is the proper name for a male donkey, and an insult for a foolish person. Jack has meant male in animal names for centuries.
A jackass is a male donkey. The *jack* is the useful part: English has long used it to mark the male of a species — a jack rabbit, a jackdaw, a jack in a pack of cards. The insult came later, from the donkey's reputation for stubbornness rather than from anything the animal actually does.
- A male donkey. *A jackass and two jennies.*
- A foolish person (informal). *Stop being a jackass.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | jackass | A grey jackass. |
| Plural | jackasses | Two jackasses. |
| Female | jenny | A jenny donkey. |
| Related | donkey | A working donkey. |
| Related | mule | A mule, the hybrid. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The jackass was kept apart from the mares.Farming use.
- He made a complete jackass of himself.Mild American insult.
- A mule has a jackass for a father.A mule is a donkey stallion crossed with a mare.
Male and female animal names
- Jackass and jenny — donkeys
- Stallion and mare — horses
- Buck and doe — deer and rabbits
- Drake and duck — ducks
- Gander and goose — geese
A compound of *jack*, a general name for a man and hence for a male animal, and *ass*, Old English *assa*, from Latin *asinus*. *Donkey* is a much younger word, recorded only from the eighteenth century.
Jackass or donkey?
Donkey is the species. Jackass is specifically a male one, and in American speech an insult.
What is a mule?
The offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Mules are almost always sterile.