jennet

A medieval jennet.

The definition of jennet varies depending on location and on the antiquity of the usage. It historically referred to a well-bred small Spanish horse.^[1] However, the English, (possibly originating as a historical insult directed at the Spanish) also used the term to refer to a female "jenny" or donkey or a hinny (a hybrid produced by a male horse and a female donkey).

Spanish origin of the term

According to the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, jennet referred to a small Spanish horse and was sometimes applied in English to a mule, "the offspring of a she-ass and a stallion." The 2000 edition of the American Heritage Dictionary also defines jennet, with the alternative spelling genet, as a small Spanish saddle horse, the Jennet described a type, rather than a breed of horse, and thus is not used today; the term was in regular use during the Middle Ages to refer to a specific type of horse, usually one of Iberian or Barb extraction.

In the etymology provided by the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, jennet is derived from the French genet, from Spanish jinete, a light horseman who rides a la jineta, explained as "with his legs tucked up." The term is taken to be a corruption of the Arabic Zenata, a Berber tribe famed for its cavalry. English and French transferred the word from the rider to the horse, a meaning which the word has only acquired in Spain in modern times. The American Heritage Dictionary's etymology is similar, citing the Middle English genet, from Old French, from the Catalan ginet, of Arabic or Berber origin.[2]

Contemporary meanings in United Kingdom and North America

Some people speculate that the term jenny may be derived from jennet. In contemporary North American usage, a jenny is a female donkey, a female horse is called a mare. However, a female mule is properly called a mare or a mare mule. A female hinny is also referred to as a mare.

In the United Kingdom, a female donkey is either called a mare or a jenny, and a male donkey is called a stallion rather than a jack or jackass,^[2] although the term jack is gaining greater usage. However, in the UK, jennet sometimes refers to a type of hinny or mule.

Jennet is also an old-English girl's name, derived originally from John. Jennet Device was the name of the younger daughter of Elizabeth Device, one of the Pendle Witches.

See also

• Horses in the Middle Ages
• Iberian horse
• Paso Fino
• Peruvian Paso
• Hinny
• Horse
• Mule

References

1. ^ http://www.frankhopkins.com/mustangsA.html Bennett, Deb. "The Spanish Mustang: The Origin and Relationships of the Mustang, Barb, and Arabian Horse"]
2. ^ [1]

External links

• Bennett, Deb. "The Spanish Mustang: The Origin and Relationships of the Mustang, Barb, and Arabian Horse"
• American Donkey and Mule Society

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Donate to Wikimedia