Hypertext Webster Gateway: "mule"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Mule
(Heb. pered), so called from the quick step of the animal or its
power of carrying loads. It is not probable that the Hebrews
bred mules, as this was strictly forbidden in the law (Lev.
19:19), although their use was not forbidden. We find them in
common use even by kings and nobles (2 Sam. 18:9; 1 Kings 1:33;
2 Kings 5:17; Ps. 32:9). They are not mentioned, however, till
the time of David, for the word rendered "mules" (R.V.
correctly, "hot springs") in Gen. 36:24 (yemim) properly denotes
the warm springs of Callirhoe, on the eastern shore of the Dead
Sea. In David's reign they became very common (2 Sam. 13:29; 1
Kings 10:25).
Mules are not mentioned in the New Testament. Perhaps they had
by that time ceased to be used in Palestine.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Mule \Mule\ (m[=u]l), n. [F., a she-mule, L. mula, fem. of
mulus; cf. Gr. my`klos, mychlo`s. Cf. AS. m[=u]l, fr. L.
mulus. Cf. {Mulatto}.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) A hybrid animal; specifically, one generated
between an ass and a mare, sometimes a horse and a
she-ass. See {Hinny}.
Note: 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} (Zo["o]l.), a long-eared armadillo (Tatusia
hybrida), native of Buenos Aires; -- called also {mulita}.
See Illust. under {Armadillo}.
{Mule deer} (Zo["o]l.), 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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
mule
n 1: sterile offspring of a male donkey and a female horse
2: a slipper that has no fitting around the heel [syn: {mules},
{scuff}, {scuffs}]
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