Where does “donkey's ears” come from?

donkey's ears (English) comes from English years, from English year, from Middle English yeer, from Old English ġēar, from Proto-West Germanic jār, from Proto-Germanic jērą, from Proto-Indo-European yeh₁r- — year.

donkey's ears (English): A long time, years and years; A pair of scissor...

Definitions

  1. A long time, years and years; A pair of scissor...

Ancestry of “donkey's ears”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishyearsplural of year; API pl; A very long time
2EnglishyearA solar year, the time it takes the Earth to...
3Middle Englishyeeryear
4Old Englishġēaryear
5Proto-West Germanicjāryear
6Proto-Germanicjērąyear; name of the J-rune
7Proto-Indo-Europeanyeh₁r-year

Words derived from “donkey's ears”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European yeh₁r- →Every word from Proto-Germanic jērą →Every word from Proto-West Germanic jār →