DONKEY ENGINE • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Donkey engine

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/dˈɑŋki ˈɛndʒən/ Listen

noun

Donkey n. (pl. donkeys)

An ass; or (less frequently) a mule.

A stupid or obstinate fellow; an ass.

Donkey engine, a small auxiliary engine not used for propelling, but for pumping water into the boilers, raising heavy weights, and like purposes.

Donkey pump, a steam pump for feeding boilers, extinguishing fire, etc.; usually an auxiliary.

Donkey's eye (Bot.), the large round seed of the Mucuna pruriens, a tropical leguminous plant.

See images of 'Donkey engine'

Etymology of 'Donkey engine'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

"Donkey engine" Quotes from Famous Books

... a locomotive," said a boy of the donkey engine; "it whistled like the steam-cars, but it didn't ...

— How to Succeed - or, Stepping-Stones to Fame and Fortune • Orison Swett Marden

... by the mates, closed the doors, and hoped for the best. Slept a lot that day and night; and at eight this morning slacked off my spanker and main sheets, checked in my foreyard and topsail by taking the the braces to the donkey engine, and ...

— Cappy Ricks Retires • Peter B. Kyne

... the donkey engine and the rattle of a steel cable on the hoisting-drum proclaimed the fact that the Kincaid's anchor was being raised, and a moment later the waiter heard the propellers revolving, and slowly the little steamer moved away from him out ...

— The Beasts of Tarzan • Edgar Rice Burroughs

... bridge itself. If we opened our cabin portholes for a little fresh air, which at times was really a necessity, the cabin was soon flooded, and our clothes and rugs spent half their time being dried in the donkey engine room. ...

— A Girl's Ride in Iceland • Ethel Brilliana Alec-Tweedie

... dividing themselves into different gangs of men, all hands worked with a will, throwing the cargo overboard to lighten the vessel, and pumping with all their energies—their shouts ringing out bravely as they worked to get out the water. The donkey engine too was set at work, and steam fought storm and sea, but this time in vain. After several hours' hard work, the engineer came to the captain and lifeboatmen and said, 'It's all up; the water's coming in as fast as we pump it out. Come ...

— Heroes of the Goodwin Sands • Thomas Stanley Treanor