What does "mule" mean?
Mule: (Bot.) A plant or vegetable produced by impregnating the pistil of one species with the pollen or fecundating dust of another; -- called also hybrid.
Additional senses
- 2.A very stubborn person.
- 3.A machine, used in factories, for spinning cotton, wool, etc., into yarn or thread and winding it into cops; -- called also jenny and mule-jenny. Mule armadillo (Zoöl.), a long-eared armadillo (Tatusia hybrida), native of Buenos Ayres; -- called also mulita. See Illust. under Armadillo. -- Mule deer (Zoöl.), a large deer (Cervus, or Cariacus, macrotis) of the Western United States. The name refers to its long ears. -- Mule pulley (Mach.), an idle pulley for guiding a belt which transmits motion between shafts that are not parallel. -- Mule twist, cotton yarn in cops, as spun on a mule; -- in distinction from yarn spun on a throstle frame.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00