Eeyore

English

Etymology

From the donkey in A.A. Milne's books Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, whose name is onomatopoeic from a donkey's bray (compare hee-haw).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈiː.jɔː(ɹ)/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Eeyore (plural Eeyores)

1. (figuratively) An excessively negative or pessimistic person.
   • 1989, Terry Jones, Erik the Viking, Hal Leonard Corporation, published 1990, →ISBN, page 39:

     SVEN nods toward SNORRI THE MISERABLE - an Eeyore of a Viking if ever there were one.

   • 2003, The Resurrection of the Son of God, volume 3, of Christian origins and the question of God, Nicholas Thomas Wright, Fortress Press, →ISBN, page 108:

     Ecclesiastes, who sometimes seems to cast himself as the Eeyore of the Old Testament, would simply shrug his shoulders and tell you to make the best of what you had.

   • 2008, Steven Haines, The Product Manager's Desk Reference, McGraw-Hill Professional, →ISBN, page 99:

     You can't succeed as a Pollyanna or an Eeyore in the Product Management role — the glass is neither half full nor half empty, simply something that must eventually be washed.

Derived terms

• Eeyorish

Translations

negative or pessimistic person

• Czech: Iáček
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} iejoor m
• Finnish: pahanilmanlintu (fi)
• German: I-Ah
• Hebrew: איה (he) m (iya)
• Polish: Kłapouchy m
• Portuguese: Ió m, Bisonho m, Igor (pt) m (Portugal)
• Russian: Иа-Иа (Ia-Ia)
• Slovene: Sivček
• Spanish: Igor (es)
• Swedish: I-or, Ior

See also

• Eeyore