jenny en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Partially from generic use of the female given name Jenny (cf. Jane) and partially from informal pronunciations of engine.
Meanings
- A device for spinning thread from fiber onto multiple spindles (also called spinning jenny).
- A female creature of certain kinds: ▸ A female donkey.
- A female creature of certain kinds: ▸ A female wren.
-
A female creature of certain kinds: ▸ A female cat.
Of course all the stock went by road and the house cat—a jenny it was—was put into a basket and driven in the trap along with one or two particular things and the women.
1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
- (Australia) A female creature of certain kinds: ▸ A female crab.
- A catmill.
-
In billiards and similar games, a powerful follow shot with plenty of topspin.
Cream's potting had been extraordinary, extraordinary, I remember, said Goff. I never saw anything like it. We were watching breathless, as he set himself for a long thin jenny, with the black of all balls.
1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| jennies | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| Jenny | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
flying jenny · tea jenny · jenny wren · jenny-ass · jenny-longlegs · henny