mule Definition

mule¹
noun

1. The offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, used as a working animal in many countries.
2. A stubborn person. See also mulish.
3. slang
Someone who smuggles drugs into a country for a dealer.
4. A cotton-spinning machine that produces yarn on spindles. Also called spinning mule.
5. A hybrid, such as a cross between a canary and another finch (a mule canary).

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon mul: from Latin mulus or mula.

---

mule²
noun

1. A shoe or slipper with no back part covering the heel.

Etymology: 16c; 15c, meaning ‘a chilblain on the heel': from French mules chilblains.