jenny
verbEtymology Partially from generic use of the female given name Jenny (cf. Jane) and partially from informal pronunciations of engine.
1
To wind finished lace onto cards ready for sale.
- Derived terms
- jennier
jenny
nounalso spelled Jenny/ˈd͡ʒɛni/
Etymology Partially from generic use of the female given name Jenny (cf. Jane) and partially from informal pronunciations of engine.
7 senses
1
A device for spinning thread from fiber onto multiple spindles (also called spinning jenny).
› A female creature of certain kinds:
2
A female donkey.
3
A female wren.
4
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:
5
Australia A female crab.
6
A catmill.
7
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:
- Derived terms
- flying jenny, henny, jenny-ass, jenny-longlegs, jenny wren, tea jenny