ass
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: ăs
ipa: /æs/
rhymes: -æs
rhymes: -ɑːs
Forms: form: asses
Etymology: From Middle English asse, from Old English assa, back-formed from assen (“she-ass”), from Celtic (compare Old Irish asan, Old Cornish asen), from Latin asinus. Displaced Old English esol, from Proto-West Germanic *asil, also a loanword from the same Latin word. Sense “stupid person” from the animal's reputation for stubbornness, going back to antiquity (compare Latin asinus (“slow-witted person”)).
Senses: examples: text: And Iesse tooke an asse laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by Dauid his sonne vnto Saul.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 16:20:
text: Thus the Aſſe having a peculiar mark of a croſſe made by a black liſt down his back, and another athwart, or at right angles down his ſhoulders; common opinion aſcribes this figure unto a peculiar ſignation; ſince that beaſt had the honour to bear our Saviour on his back.
ref: 1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Same [i.e., the Blacknesse of Negroes]”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 6th book, page 282:
text: […] suddenly a man, in foreign garments: wonderfully real and distinct to look at: stood outside the window, with an axe stuck in his belt, and leading an ass laden with wood by the bridle.
ref: 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 51:
text: Pliny the Elder states that, to increase sexual potency, the right testis of an ass should be worn in a bracelet.
ref: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 49:
text: In this section "animal" means any horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dog.
ref: 1972, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Part I, section 20(3)”, in Road Traffic Act 1972, page 14:
hypernyms: equine#Noun
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equid#Noun
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mammal#Noun
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animal#Noun
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creature#Noun
critter#Noun
glosses: Any of several species of horse-like animals, especially Equus asinus, the domesticated of which are used as beasts of burden.
examples: text: Near-synonyms: fool, idiot, jerk, asswipe; see also Thesaurus:jerk
text: That new kid left the cap off the syrup bottle again! What an ass.
text: He is such an ass for leaving the house door open.
text: Oh Vengeance! / Who? What an Aſſe am I?
ref: c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 264:
text: I had sprung to my feet. I was speaking, and yet I had prepared no words. Tarp Henry, my companion, was plucking at my skirts and I heard him whispering, "Sit down, Malone! Don't make a public ass of yourself."
ref: 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
qualifier: often vulgar through confusion with other word
glosses: A stupid or jerky (inconsiderate, etc) person.
examples: text: Sometimes by way of joke, and sometimes by way of irritation, compositors are called Asses by the pressmen.
ref: [1841, William Savage, Dictionary of the Art of Printing, page 24:
topics: media
printing
publishing
glosses: A compositor.
Derived terms: ass cart
Big Ass Lake
Buridan's ass
make an ass of
the law is an ass
wild ass
zebrass
Related terms: asinine