Definitions and meaning of ass
ass
Translingual
Symbol
ass
- (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Ipulo.
See also
-
- Wiktionary’s coverage of Ipulo terms
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: ăs, IPA(key): /æs/
- (trap–bath split) IPA(key): /ɑːs/
-
-
- Rhymes: -æs, -ɑːs
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)
- Any of several species of horse-like animals, especially Equus asinus, the domesticated of which are used as beasts of burden.
- Hypernyms: equine < equid < mammal < animal < creature, critter
- Hyponyms: donkey (loosely synonymous), onager, wild ass
- (often vulgar through confusion with other word) A stupid or jerky (inconsiderate, etc) person.
- Near-synonyms: fool, idiot, jerk, asswipe; see also Thesaurus:jerk
- (printing, slang, obsolete) A compositor.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
See also
- Appendix:Animals
- Appendix:English collective nouns
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 *h₁órsos (compare Ancient Greek ὄρρος (órrhos)).
Noun
ass (countable and uncountable, plural asses) (vulgar, slang, US)
- (countable and uncountable) The buttocks.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:buttocks
- (countable and uncountable) The anus.
-
- 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!
- (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
- (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 load of ass. ― What a bunch of lies/nonsense/disappointment.
- (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
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).
- Its declined forms function pronominally in syntax, which is to say (regarding part of speech), they are pronouns:
- my ass = I, me, myself
- your ass = you, you, yourself
- his ass = he, him, himself
- her ass = she, her, herself
- your asses = y'all, y'all, yourselves
- their asses = they, them, themselves
Alternative forms
Derived terms
Translations
Adjective
ass (not comparable)
- (vulgar, slang) Of low quality; bad.
Particle
ass
- Synonym of -ass (used to intensify an adjective).
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
- L. A. Hill and S. S. Eustac (1972) “On Arse and Ass”, in Journal of the International Phonetic Association, volume 2, number 2, pages 79–80
Anagrams
German
Verb
ass
- 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)
- axle
Declension
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)
- present oblique participle of byut
References
- M. Bukšs, J. Placinskis (1973) Latgaļu volūdas gramatika un pareizraksteibas vōrdneica, Latgaļu izdevnīceiba, page 131
Latvian
Etymology 1
From Proto-Balto-Slavic *aśís, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs-. Originally an i/n-stem, it became an i-stem in Baltic.
Pronunciation
Noun
ass f (6th declension)
- 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
- (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
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”).
Pronunciation
Noun
ass f (6th declension)
- 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)
- old unit of volume for measuring wood, equivalent to approximately 2-4 cubic meters
- divas asis malkas ― two axes (=4-8m3) of wood
Declension
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”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
ass (definite asais, comparative asāks, superlative visasākais, adverb asi)
- 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
- pointed (having a narrow tip)
- asas kalnu galotnes ― sharp mountain tops
- ass zīmulis ― sharp pencil
- 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
- (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
- (of fabric, skin, etc.) coarse, rough
- asa sejas āda ― coarse, rough facial skin
- ass linu dvielis ― towel (made) of coarse linen
- 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
- 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)
- 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
- (about problems, questions) clear, acute, of immediate importance
- asa problēma ― a clear, acute problem
- sharp (very well developed, very accurate)
- asa redze ― sharp vision
- ass prāts ― sharp mind
- asa uztvere ― sharp perception, acumen
Declension
Synonyms
- (of "sharp"): skaudrs
- (of "coarse", "harsh"): raupjš, rupjš, negluds, skarbs
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “of "sharp"”): truls, neass
- (antonym(s) of “of "coarse", "harsh"”): gluds, maigs, mīksts
Derived terms
References
Luxembourgish
Verb
ass
- 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
- out
Preposition
ass
- out of
Inflection
Derived terms
Pronoun
ass
- first-person plural of ec
- out of him/it
Derived terms
Middle English
Noun
ass
- 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)
- (informal, greater Oslo area) A sound that marks the end of a sentence, and which otherwise doesn't mean anything.
- (music) A-flat
Norwegian Nynorsk
Alternative forms
- Ass (alternative capitalization)
Noun
ass m (definite singular assen, indefinite plural assar, definite plural assane)
- (music) A-flat
Old Irish
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Pronoun
ass
- third-person singular masculine of a
Swedish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /asː/
- Rhymes: -asː
Etymology 1
Noun
ass n
- (music) A-flat; the note A♭
Declension
Related terms
Etymology 2
Noun
ass n
- an insured letter; abbreviation of assurerad (försändelse)
- Coordinate term: rek (“registered”)
Declension
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)
- day
- Synonym: nnhar
- daytime
- Synonym: aziř
Declension
Derived terms
Tashelhit
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Berber [Term?].
Pronunciation
Noun
ass m (Tifinagh spelling ⴰⵙⵙ, plural ussan)
- day
- ndi wass ― yesterday
- i wass ― per day
- ku yass ― every day
- ussan ad lli zrinin ― these past days
- ass n lḥd ― Sunday
Derived terms
References
- Stroomer, Harry (2025) Dictionnaire berbère tachelḥiyt-français — Tome 1 a—e (Handbook of Oriental Studies – Handbuch der Orientalistik; 188/1) (in French), Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, →DOI, →ISBN
Source: wiktionary.org