Donkeys

Small and sturdy beasts of burden

"For goblins eat horses and ponies and donkeys (and other much more dreadful things), and they are always hungry."

The Hobbit 4
Over Hill and Under Hill

Smaller and stockier relatives of the horse, also commonly known as 'asses', donkeys were typically used as pack animals. While no donkey is directly encountered in the tales of Middle-earth, they were clearly known there, though in general horses and ponies were preferred as riding animals. Donkeys are listed among the many things that Goblins were willing to eat, and their alternative name of 'ass' was often used as a mocking insult for a slow-witted or foolish person.

Notes

In earlier times, the much more common name for this animal was 'ass', with variations of that word occurring in numerous related languages (as in Old English assa, or Latin asinus). 'Ass' is therefore thought to be an extremely old word indeed, though its ultimate origins are unknown.

By comparison, 'donkey' is a much more recent coinage, first recorded in 1785. We might expect, then, to have some account of the roots of the word, but in fact its origins are mysterious. Various theories have been proposed: the name might come from the colour dun (grey-brown, as incidentally in Dunland), or from the personal name Duncan, or even from a (rather questionable) imitation of the sound made by donkeys. Ultimately the origin of the word 'donkey' is as unknown as that of the much more ancient 'ass'.

Indexes:

About this entry:

Updated 19 January 2025
This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Donkeys

Small and sturdy beasts of burden

Notes

Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.

Discus Invitations make it easy to run DISC personality profiling across the Web, with results available instantly.