Anonymous  +  145050 Thu, 06 Oct 05 05:37 AM A dictionary says donkey = Duncan  + monkey. Is this Duncan+monkey being true? Good dag Anonymous

	Clive  +  145155 Thu, 06 Oct 05 02:11 PM Hi, A dictionary says donkey = Duncan  + monkey. Is this Duncan+monkey being true? I imagine that it is trying to tell you how the word is pronounced,  ie first syllable from 'Duncan', last syllable from 'monkey'. Some people might prefer to say first syllable from 'Don Juan'. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,657 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	Kangiten  +  145157 Thu, 06 Oct 05 02:19 PM "From Wikipedia" The word "donkey" is one of the most etymologically obscure in the English language. Until quite recent times, the standard word was "ass", which has clear cognates in most other Indo-European languages; no credible cognate for "donkey" has yet been identified, though it is possible that it is a diminutive of "dun" (dull greyish-brown), a typical donkey colour; originally, "donkey" was pronounced to rhyme with "monkey". In the late 18th century, the word "donkey" started to replace "ass", almost certainly to avoid confusion with the word "***", which, due to sound changes that had affected the language, had come to be pronounced the same way (/æs/ > /ɑ/ and /ɑ:rs/ > /ɑ/). The /ɑ/ pronunciation of "ass" was eventually restored to /æs/ in order to reserve the distinction, but not without the curious consequence of American English losing the word "***" entirely and handing over its meaning to "ass". "From http://www.etymonline.com" donkey 1785, slang, perhaps from dun "dull grey-brown," the form perhaps infl. by monkey. Or possibly from a familiar form of Duncan (cf.dobbin). The older Eng. word was ass. Kangiten Joined on Tue, Oct 26 2004 Full Member 116 American English, Pronunciation, Images

	Clive  +  145271 Thu, 06 Oct 05 10:20 PM Hi Kangiten, Good detective work! Clive Clive

	Kangiten  +  145499 Fri, 07 Oct 05 10:26 AM Hi Clive No problem, I receive so much help from here I'm happy to return the favour when I can [edit: the above anonymous post was by me, feel free to delete it] Kangiten

	Kangiten  +  145555 Fri, 07 Oct 05 02:00 PM No idea but maybe the pronunciation of "duncan" got altered over the years and became "donkey" because "monkey" already existed. Kangiten Pronunciation