Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mule” come from?

Mule comes from Latin mulus, which derives from Proto-Indo-European mukslós, a word of uncertain ultimate origin referring to the hybrid animal.

mule (English): The generally sterile male or female hybrid...

Definitions

  1. The generally sterile male or female hybrid...

Ancestry of “mule”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchmuleslipper
2Medieval Latinmula—
3Latinmulleus—
4Latin-eusargentum + API → argenteus; ferrum + API →...
5Ancient Greek-εῖοςForms adjectives, usually with a meaning of "of"...
6Proto-Indo-European-iHwós—
7Proto-Indo-European-wósCreates adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “mule”

  • mules
  • mulish
  • muleback
  • Muleshoe
  • mulishly
  • mulishness
  • muleskinner
  • mulelike
  • muleload
  • muleless
  • mule skinner
  • credit mule
  • miúil
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -wós →