I. ˈmyül noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French mul, from Latin mulus, probably of non-Indo-European origin; akin to the source of Late Greek dialect (Phocian) mychlos male ass
1. : a hybrid between the horse and the ass: as
a. : the usually sterile offspring of a male ass and a mare having the large head, long ears, and small hoofs of the ass and the form and size of the horse and being valued as a draft and pack animal because of its endurance and surefootedness
b. : hinny
2. : a very stubborn person
3. : a plant that is self-sterile because of either infertile pollen or rudimentary pistils ; usually : a hybrid that is self-sterile and cross-sterile
4. : hybrid ; especially : one that is sterile — used especially of hybrids between the canary and related birds
5.
[probably so called from its being regarded as combining the principles of two earlier machines]
: a machine having a moving carriage for simultaneously drawing and twisting a sliver into yarn or thread and winding it into cops and used originally for cotton but now limited largely to wool — called also mule-jenny
6. : a sharp-sterned coble used on the northeast coast of England
7. : a coin or token struck from dies belonging to two different issues (as the obverse die of a cent and the reverse die of a halfpenny)
8.
a. : a small usually electric locomotive (as for towing ships through a lock or pulling mine cars)
b. : a light tractor (as for hauling trucks on a dock or dollies in a warehouse)
9. : a device that can be lowered vertically from across the bow of a boat so as to catch the current in the water and draw the boat along
10. : a large wooden board pulled by a windlass and used to unload grain from a railroad car
II. adjective
: hybrid
mule cabbage
mule lamb
a mule plant
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to combine (dies that do not match) to make a mule
mule the obverse of one token with the reverse of another
2. : to strike (a coin or token) with nonmatching dies making a mule
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, chilblain, slipper
obsolete : chilblain
V. ˈmyül noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, chilblain, slipper, from Latin mulleus red shoe worn by dignitaries; probably akin to Greek melas black — more at mullet
: a shoe or house slipper without quarter and often with a low heel
VI. noun
slang : a person who smuggles or delivers illicit drugs