zedonk, n.

zedonk
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zedonk_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# zedonknoun

## Earlier version

- zedonk in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zedonk mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zedonk. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How is the noun zedonk pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈziːdɒŋk/
ZEE-donk
/ˈzɛdɒŋk/
ZED-onk

#### U.S. English

/ˈziˌdɑŋk/
ZEE-dahnk
/ˈziˌdɔŋk/
ZEE-dawnk

### Where does the noun zedonk come from?

Earliest known use

1960s

The earliest known use of the noun zedonk is in the 1960s.

OED's earliest evidence for zedonk is from 1961, in the Lima News (Lima, Ohio).

zedonk is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: zebra n., donkey n.

### Nearby entries

1. zebrina, n. 1846–
2. zebrine, adj. a1810–
3. zebroid, adj. & n. 1881–
4. zebrule, n. 1899–
5. zebu, n. 1771–
6. zecchino, n. 1572–
7. Zechstein, n. 1798–
8. zed, n. c1175–
9. zedbed, n. 1954–
10. zedoary, n. Old English–
11. zedonk, n.1961–
12. zee, n. 1580–
13. Zeelander, n. c1400–
14. Zeelandic, adj. 1802–
15. Zeelandish, adj. 1593–
16. Zeeman, n. 1897–
17. zeep, n. 1878–
18. zeep, v. 1886–
19. zeeping, adj. 1895–
20. zef, adj. 1990–
21. zegadine, n. 1651–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by compounding.
< ze- (in zebra n.) + donk- (in donkey n.).

## Meaning & use

1. 1961–
   The hybrid offspring of a zebra and a donkey. Cf. zebrule n., zonkey n.
   1. 1961

      > Officials..wondered Friday what to call the 55-pound animal born to a Zebra mother and donkey father. He has his mother's legs but the rest of him favors dad. How about Zedonk or Keybra?

      Lima (Ohio) News 29 July 11 (caption)
   2. 1971

      > The staff at Colchester Zoo have described their newcomer as a ‘Zedonk’.

      Daily Telegraph 17 April 8/5
   3. 1976

      > Donkeys crossed with zebras, sometimes called zeedonks, have been used like mules..as pack animals.

      Observer 5 September (Colour Supplement) 42/3
   4. 2001

      > A zonkey, sometimes called a zebrass, or a zedonk, is the offspring of a zebra stallion and a female donkey.

      B. McLain, What makes Flamingos Pink? i. 14
   1. zebrule 1899–
      The hybrid offspring of a male zebra and a female equine; esp. a zedonk (see zedonk, n.).
   2. zonkey 1953–
      The offspring of a zebra and a donkey. Cf. zedonk, n.
   3. zedonk 1961–
      The hybrid offspring of a zebra and a donkey. Cf. zebrule, n., zonkey, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈziːdɒŋk/
ZEE-donk
/ˈzɛdɒŋk/
ZED-onk

### U.S. English

/ˈziˌdɑŋk/
ZEE-dahnk
/ˈziˌdɔŋk/
ZEE-dawnk

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Forms

### Variant forms

1. 1900s–
   zedonk, zeedonk

zedonk, n. was revised in June 2018.

zedonk, n. was last modified in July 2023.