Mule (mūl), n. [F., a she-mule,
L. mula, fem. of mulus; cf. Gr. my`klos,
mychlo`s. Cf. AS. mūl, fr. L. mulus.
Cf. Mulatto.] 1. (Zoöl.) A
hybrid animal; specifically, one generated between an ass and a mare,
sometimes a horse and a she-ass. See Hinny.
☞ Mules are much used as draught animals. They are hardy, and
proverbial for stubbornness.
2. (Bot.) A plant or vegetable
produced by impregnating the pistil of one species with the pollen or
fecundating dust of another; -- called also hybrid.
3. A very stubborn person.
4. A machine, used in factories, for spinning
cotton, wool, etc., into yarn or thread and winding it into cops; --
called also jenny and mule-jenny.
Mule armadillo (Zoöl.), a long-
eared armadillo (Tatusia hybrida), native of Buenos Aires; --
called also mulita. See Illust. under
Armadillo. -- Mule deer
(Zoöl.), a large deer (Cervus, or Cariacus,
macrotis) of the Western United States. The name refers to its
long ears. -- Mule pulley (Mach.),
an idle pulley for guiding a belt which transmits motion between
shafts that are not parallel. -- Mule twist,
cotton yarn in cops, as spun on a mule; -- in distinction from
yarn spun on a throstle frame.