ass

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "ass"

Translingual

Symbol

ass

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Ipulo.

See also

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation

  • enPR: ăs, IPA(key): /æs/
  • Audio (UK):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -æs

Etymology 1

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”)).

Noun

ass (plural asses)

Somali wild ass
  1. Any of several species of horse-like animals, especially Equus asinus, the domesticated of which are used as beasts of burden.
    Synonym: donkey
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 16:20:
      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.
    • 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:
      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.
    • 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:
      […] 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.
    • 1972, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Part I, section 20(3)”, in Road Traffic Act 1972‎[2], page 14:
      In this section "animal" means any horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dog.
  2. (often vulgar through confusion with other word) A stupid person.
    Synonyms: fool, idiot
    That new kid left the cap off the syrup bottle again! What an ass.
  3. (printing, slang, obsolete) A compositor.
    • [1841, William Savage, Dictionary of the Art of Printing‎[3], page 24:
      Sometimes by way of joke, and sometimes by way of irritation, compositors are called Asses by the pressmen.]
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations
See also

Etymology 2

Variant of arse; used chiefly in North America. Ultimately from Middle English ars, ers, from Old English ærs, ears, from Proto-West Germanic *ars, from Proto-Germanic *arsaz (compare Old High German ars (German Arsch), Old Norse ars, Old Frisian ers), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃érsos (compare Ancient Greek ὄρρος (órrhos)).

Etymological notes

Contrary to the widespread belief of this being a euphemism, it arose as a pronunciation spelling (of the older form arse still used in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) that shows the assimilation of /ɹ/ before coronal consonants (especially /s/), a phenomenon that has been present in nonstandard speech from the Middle English period onwards; this is distinct from the later phenomenon of non-rhoticity as /ɹ/ was lost before it could modify the preceding vowel. Other instances of this phenomenon (some of which retained both spellings with different meanings) include cuss from curse, gash from garsh, bass (“fish”) from barse, bust from burst, passel from parcel; see Category:English terms with assimilation of historic /ɹ/ for a more extensive list.

Noun

ass (countable and uncountable, plural asses)

  2. (vulgar, slang, countable and uncountable) The buttocks.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:buttocks
  3. (vulgar, slang, countable and uncountable) The anus.
    • 1962 [1959], William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch, New York: Grove Press, page 81:
      Train compartment: two sick young junkies on their way to Lexington tear their pants down in convulsions of lust. One of them soaps his cock and works it up the other's ass with a corkscrew motion.
    • 1997 Matt Stone & Trey Parker, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe," South Park, Season 1, Episode 1 (aired August 13, 1997), Spoken by Eric Cartman (Trey Parker)
      That does it! Now listen! Why is it that everything today has involved things either going in or coming out of my ass? I’m sick of it! It’s completely immature!
  4. (vulgar, slang, synecdochically, uncountable) Sex; a person to have sex with; with vulgar emphasis on their corporeality (their body) over their personhood.
    Synonyms: poontang, poon, punani, pussy, tail, tang; see also Thesaurus:copulation
    I'm going to go down to the bar and try to get me some ass.
    piece of ass
    • 1971, Joni Mitchell (lyrics and music), “Blue”, in Blue:
      Acid, booze, and ass / Needles, guns, and grass
  5. (vulgar, slang, uncountable) Used in similes to express something bad or unpleasant.
    I feel like ass today. ― I am feeling very bad today.
    This room smells like ass. ― This room smells very bad.
    What a bunch of ass. ― What a bunch of lies/nonsense/disappointment.
  7. (vulgar, slang, synecdochically, countable) A person; the self; (reflexively) oneself or one's person, chiefly their body. By extension, one's personal safety, or figuratively one's job, prospects, etc.
    Coordinate terms: face; hide
    Get your lazy ass out of bed!
    We risk our asses out there every day.
    I'ma get medieval on your ass! (idiomatic sense "on you" (compare go crazy on you), not literally and specifically "on your buttocks")
    Mess up one more time and it's your ass (i.e. you're fired)
Usage notes
  • When used synecdochically to refer to a (whole) person, it adds a tone of anger or disapproval to the whole sentence:
    • "he has trouble getting his ass up in the morning" is much stronger and more negative than "he has trouble getting up in the morning".
  • The disapproval may not be of the person so referred to:
    • "And who do you think has to clean this mess up? My ass does!" (Does not indicate disapproval of the speaker themselves, but rather of the people who made the mess.)
      • (A hint of jaded self-perception may be perceived: "I realize how they see me!")
  • Such usage is usually considered vulgar and is thus usually confined to casual/informal registers; its use in formal contexts is mildly offensive.

Its semantic essence is impersonalization (even of oneself), whereby a chief body part synecdochically represents the whole self, with a connotation emphasizing the person's corporeality over their personhood (from that viewpoint, compare also watch his hide, show his face, what's-his-face, meatbag, or crackhead).

Alternative forms
  • @$$ (censored spelling)
Derived terms
Terms derived from ass (buttocks, vulgar)
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Adjective

ass (not comparable)

  1. (vulgar, slang) Of low quality; bad.
    • 2019 February 5, Alex Miller, “Former Texas A&M QB Nick Starkel breaks down old Twitter beef with Tate Martell”, in Dallas Morning News‎[4]:
      On a recent episode of "The Justin Dunning Podcast," Starkel shared his thoughts on Martell, a former Ohio State quarterback, saying "he's ass my dude" in reference to Starkel.
    • 2021 February 21, Thomas Carannante, “Patriots: Cam Newton getting disrespected by a teenager is everything that’s wrong with society”, in Fansided‎[5]:
      For some reason, the teenager thought it’d be a good idea to criticize Newton and say he's "ass" and that he’s "about to be poor" because he's a free agent.
    • 2021 October 28, Josh Weinfuss, “What we learned about Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray by watching him on Twitch”, in ESPN‎[6]:
      "You're so ass," Murray says to another player.

Particle

ass

  1. Synonym of -ass (used to intensify an adjective)
    That was one big ass fish!
    That's an expensive ass car!

Further reading

  • Archibald A. Hill (1940) “Early Loss of [r] before Dentals”, in PMLA, volume 55, number 2, →DOI, pages 308-359
  • L. Sprague de Camp (1971) “Arse and ass”, in Journal of the International Phonetic Association, volume 1, number 2, →DOI, pages 79–80

Anagrams

German

Verb

ass

  1. Switzerland and Liechtenstein standard spelling of aß.

Latgalian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *aśís. Cognates include Latvian ass and Lithuanian ašis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈasʲsʲ]
  • Hyphenation: ass

Noun

ass f (diminutive aseite)

  1. axle
Declension
Declension of ass (type 6 noun)
singular plural
nominative ass ass, asis
genitive ass ošu
dative asei asim, ašom1)
accusative asi ass, asis
instrumental asi asim, ašom1)
locative asī asīs, ašuos1)
vocative ass ass, asis
1) dialectal

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈass]
  • Hyphenation: ass

Participle

ass (feminine asūte, masculine plural asūts, feminine plural asūts)

  1. present oblique participle of byut

References

  • M. Bukšs, J. Placinskis (1973) Latgaļu volūdas gramatika un pareizraksteibas vōrdneica, Latgaļu izdevnīceiba, page 131

Latvian

Vagona ass
Ass

Etymology 1

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *aśís, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs-. Originally an i/n-stem, it became an i-stem in Baltic.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

ass f (6th declension)

  1. axle (pin or spindle around which something, e.g. a wheel, rotates)
    ratu ass ― axletree
    vagona ass ― wagon axle
    motocikla pakaļējā riteņa ass ― motorcycle rear wheel axle
  2. (mathematics) axis (a line with certain important properties)
    simetrijas, rotācijas ass ― axis of symmetry, of rotation
    zemes griešanās ass ― the Earth's rotation axis
    koordinātu asis ― coordinate axes
    abscisu, ordinātu ass ― x-, y-axis
Declension
Declension of ass (6th declension)
singular (vienskaitlis) plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs) ass asis
accusative (akuzatīvs) asi asis
genitive (ģenitīvs) ass asu
dative (datīvs) asij asīm
instrumental (instrumentālis) asi asīm
locative (lokatīvs) asī asīs
vocative (vokatīvs) ass asis

Etymology 2

From the same source as ass (“axle”), originally a unit of measurement corresponding to the length of a person's outstretched arms (compare Russian са́жень (sáženʹ, “old unit of measurement; length of outstretched arms”).[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

ass f (6th declension)

  1. old unit of length in the Russian system, equivalent to approximately 2.13 meters
    jūras ass ― fathom (unit of length in the English system, approximately 1.83 meters)
  2. old unit of volume for measuring wood, equivalent to approximately 2-4 cubic meters
    divas asis malkas ― two axes (=4-8m3) of wood
Declension
Declension of ass (6th declension)
singular (vienskaitlis) plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs) ass asis
accusative (akuzatīvs) asi asis
genitive (ģenitīvs) ass asu
dative (datīvs) asij asīm
instrumental (instrumentālis) asi asīm
locative (lokatīvs) asī asīs
vocative (vokatīvs) ass asis

Etymology 3

From earlier *asus, from Proto-Baltic *ašus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed, edgy”). With an extra suffix *-ro, the same stem also yielded Proto-Balto-Slavic *aśras (“sharp”), whence Latvian dialectal asrs, as well as the Lithuanian cognate aštrùs, dialectal ašrùs. From this stem, there are also Latvian reflexes with ak rather than as (e.g., akmens (“stone”), akots (“awn”)), possibly a result of Proto-Indo-European dialectal variation. In Latvian, former u-stem adjectives like *asus were assimilated into other classes; *asus gave rise to both an o-stem and a yo-stem variant which later on became independent words, ass and ašs, with different semantic nuances (compare also, e.g., plats and plašs, or dobs and dobjš). Other cognates include Old Church Slavonic остръ (ostrŭ), Russian о́стрый (óstryj), Belarusian во́стры (vóstry), Ukrainian о́стрий (óstryj), го́стрий (hóstryj), Bulgarian о́стър (óstǎr), Czech ostrý, Polish ostry, Proto-Germanic *agjō (Old High German ecka, egga (“corner, edge, point, peak, blade”), German Ecke, Sanskrit अश्रिः (áśriḥ, “corner, edge, blade”), Ancient Greek ἀκή (akḗ, “point, tip”), ἄκρος (ákros, “sharp, pointed”), Latin ācer (“sharp”), aciēs (“sharpness, blade”).[1]

Pronunciation

Adjective

ass (definite asais, comparative asāks, superlative visasākais, adverb asi)

  1. sharp (such that it (blade, tool) can easily cut or pierce)
    ass nazis, zāģis, cirvis ― sharp knife, saw, ax
    ass īlens, ilknis ― sharp awl, fang
    asa adata ― sharp needle
    asi ragi, ilkņi ― sharp horns, fangs
  2. pointed (having a narrow tip)
    asas kalnu galotnes ― sharp mountain tops
    ass zīmulis ― sharp pencil
  3. angular, not rounded (of body parts; also of writing, drawing)
    asi elkoņi ― sharp elbows
    asi vaigu kauli ― sharp cheekbones
    asas burtu formas rokrakstā ― sharp letter forms in handwriting
  4. (of plants) sharp (having little thorns or thorn-like growths, or having a sharp edge, capable of stinging)
    ass dadzis, paeglis, grīslis ― sharp thistle, juniper, sedge
    asa zāle, nātre ― sharp leaf, nettle
  5. (of fabric, skin, etc.) coarse, rough
    asa sejas āda ― coarse, rough facial skin
    ass linu dvielis ― towel (made) of coarse linen
  6. sharp, pungent, hot (which irritates the senses, creating a strong feeling or reaction)
    asa mērce ― spicy, hot (lit. sharp) sauce
    asa dūmu smaka ― pungent smell of smoke
    ass ož pēc hlora ― sharp smell of chlorine
    ass vējš ― sharp wind
    asas sāpes ― sharp pain
    ass klepus ― sharp (painful) cough
  7. harsh (voice, sound); sharp, biting, unsparing, fierce
    asā balss ― harsh voice
    runāt asā tonī ― to speak in a harsh tone (of voice)
    ass sarkasms ― sharp, biting sarcasm
    ass pārmetumi ― sharp, harsh criticism
    asa ķilda ― fierce quarrel
    asa mēle ― sharp tongue (= caustic, sarcastic)
  8. sharp, well-defined, clearly marked
    asas kontūras ― sharp contour, profile
    asi sejas vaibsti ― sharp facial features
    zīmēt asām līnijām ― to draw with sharp, well-defined lines
  9. (about problems, questions) clear, acute, of immediate importance
    asa problēma ― a clear, acute problem
  10. sharp (very well developed, very accurate)
    asa redze ― sharp vision
    ass prāts ― sharp mind
    asa uztvere ― sharp perception, acumen
Declension
indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of ass
masculine (vīriešu dzimte) feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
singular
(vienskaitlis) 		plural
(daudzskaitlis) 		singular
(vienskaitlis) 		plural
(daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs) ass asi asa asas
accusative (akuzatīvs) asu asus asu asas
genitive (ģenitīvs) asa asu asas asu
dative (datīvs) asam asiem asai asām
instrumental (instrumentālis) asu asiem asu asām
locative (lokatīvs) asā asos asā asās
vocative (vokatīvs) — — — —
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “ass”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca‎[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN.

Luxembourgish

Verb

ass

  1. is (third-person singular present of sinn)

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish ass, masculine and neuter singular form of a (“out of, from”), from Proto-Celtic *exs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“from”). Compare Irish as.

Adverb

ass

  1. out

Preposition

ass

  1. out of

Inflection

Singular Plural
Person 1st 2nd 3rd m. 3rd f. 1st 2nd 3rd
Normal assym assyd ass assjee assdooin assdiu assdaue
Emphatic assyms assyds assyn assjeeish assdooinyn assdiuish assdauesyn

Derived terms

Pronoun

ass

  1. first-person plural of ec
    out of him/it

Derived terms

Middle English

Noun

ass

  1. Alternative form of asshe (“burnt matter”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

  • Ass (alternative capitalization)

Noun

ass m (definite singular assen, indefinite plural asser, definite plural assene)

  1. (informal, greater Oslo area) A sound that marks the end of a sentence, and which otherwise doesn't mean anything.
    • 2016 November 23, Urd Vindenes, “«Språk er rart, ass»”, in Språknerderiet‎[7], retrieved 16 October 2023:
      Språk er rart, ass
      Linguistics are weird, yo
  2. (music) A-flat

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

  • Ass (alternative capitalization)

Noun

ass m (definite singular assen, indefinite plural assar, definite plural assane)

  1. (music) A-flat

Old Irish

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Pronoun

ass

  1. third-person singular masculine of a

Swedish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

ass n

  1. (music) A-flat; the note A♭
Declension
Declension of ass
nominative genitive
singular indefinite ass ass
definite asset assets
plural indefinite ass ass
definite assen assens

Etymology 2

Noun

ass n

  1. an insured letter; abbreviation of assurerad (försändelse).
    Coordinate term: rek (“registered”)
Declension
Declension of ass
nominative genitive
singular indefinite ass ass
definite asset assets
plural indefinite ass ass
definite assen assens

Anagrams

Tarifit

Alternative forms

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

ass m (Tifinagh spelling ⴰⵙⵙ, plural ussan)

  1. day
    Synonym: nnhar
  2. daytime
    Synonym: aziř

Declension

    Declension of ass
Singular Plural
free state ass ussan
construct state wass wussan

Derived terms

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