Mule

Mule - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

(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.

Mule - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

MULE, n. [L. mulus.]

1. A quadruped of a mongrel breed,usually generated between an ass and a mare, sometimes between a horse and a she-ass. But the name is applied to any animal produced by a mixture of different species.

2. A plant or vegetable produced by impregnating the pistil of one species of plant with the farin or fecundating dust of another. This is called also a hybrid.