jenny

IPA/ˈdʒeni/
KK[dʒˈɛni]IPA/ˈdʒeni/

jenny — noun

1. a female donkey, especially an adult one — the word is used when the animal's se

1.nounC1
Definition

a female donkey, especially an adult one — the word is used when the animal's sex matters, because a male donkey is called a jack.

Example

The farmer showed the children how to feed the jenny and her foal.

collocation: jenny and her foal

Vinícius bought a jenny at the market because he needed a calm working animal.

Common collocations
  • jenny and her foal
  • lead the jenny
  • ride a jenny
  • the jenny carried
Synonyms
  • she-ass

    more formal and less common in everyday speech; found mainly in older texts or Bible translations

  • female donkey

    descriptive phrase rather than a single word; used when listeners may not know the term 'jenny'

Antonyms
  • jack

    the male counterpart — a male donkey or ass

Usage Note

Distinguish from jack (a male donkey). An alternative spelling, jenney, is rare. The term applies only to donkeys, not to other female animals.

Common Mistakes

I saw a jenny at the zoo riding with her family.
I saw a donkey at the zoo.
'jenny' specifies a female donkey, not the species in general. To talk about donkeys of any sex, use 'donkey'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Jenny, she-ass, and female donkey all refer to a female donkey, but they differ in register and naturalness. Jenny is the standard everyday term used by farmers and animal handlers. Female donkey is a descriptive phrase that avoids specialized vocabulary — useful when talking to people unfamiliar with farm terms. She-ass is more formal and dated, appearing mostly in older literature or religious texts (e.g., Bible translations). Jack is the antonym, not a synonym — included here because learners often confuse the directions. A hen is not a jenny, nor is a mare; jenny is specific to donkeys only. For example: 'The farmer led his jenny into the barn' sounds natural, while 'The farmer led his she-ass into the barn' sounds oddly formal for the same scene.

jenny ↗she-assfemale donkeyjack ↗

Common collocations

Prepositions

  • of a jenny
  • with a jenny
  • for a jenny

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Jenny is a familiar English nickname for Jane (from French Jeanne, ultimately from Latin Johanna, meaning 'God is gracious'). Since the 1600s, English speakers have used human given names for male and female animals — jack for males, jenny for females — especially for donkeys, wrens, and other species where the sex matters in daily farm life. The pairing follows the same pattern as jackass (male donkey) and jenny ass.

First known use

1600

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1a