Editing Jennet (section)

== Spanish origin of the term ==
According to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition|1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'']], "jennet" referred to a small Spanish horse. The 2000 edition of the ''[[American Heritage Dictionary]]'' also defines "jennet", with the alternative spelling ''genet'', as a small Spanish saddle horse.  The "jennet" described a type, rather than a breed of horse, and thus is not used today; the term was in regular use during the [[Middle Ages]] to refer to a specific type of [[Horses in the Middle Ages|horse]], usually one of [[Iberian horse|Iberian]] or [[Barb (horse)|Barb]] extraction, often [[ambling|gaited]].

In the [[etymology]] provided by the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "jennet" is derived from the [[French language|French]] ''genet'', from [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''[[jinete]]'', a light horseman who rides ''à la jineta'', explained as "with his legs tucked up." This referred to their style of riding with shorter stirrups, which they preferred for closer [[Collection (horse)|collection]] of the horse.  The term is taken to be a corruption of ''[[Zenata]]'', a [[Berber people|Berber]] tribe famed for its [[cavalry]]. In English and French, the word came to refer to the horse rather than the style of riding.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Jennet|volume=15|page=321}}</ref>  In Spanish, that meaning has developed in modern times. The ''American Heritage Dictionary'''s etymology is similar, citing the [[Middle English]] ''genet'', from Old French; from the [[Catalan language|Catalan]] ''ginet'', of [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and, ultimately, of [[Berber languages|Berber]] origin.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=jennet "jennet"], American Heritage Dictionary</ref>