ass

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See also -ass, Ass, Äss, áss, äss, and ašs

Contents

English

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Pronunciation

  • enPR: ăs, IPA: /æs/, X-SAMPA: /{s/
  • (alternative Commonwealth pronunciation in sense of "stupid person" only) enPR: äs, IPA: /ɑːs/, X-SAMPA: /A:s/
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Rhymes: -æs

Etymology 1

From Middle English as, ass, asse, from Old English assa (“male donkey”) and assen (“female donkey”), from probable hypocoristic form of Old Irish asan, which entered the language through the Northumbrian dialect of Old English. The earlier form, from Proto-Germanic *asiluz (“ass, donkey”) appeared as Old English eosol (“ass, donkey”) (compare Old High German esil (“ass, donkey”), Old Saxon esil (“ass, donkey”), Gothic  (asilus, “ass, donkey”)).

The Old Irish word comes from the Latin asinus, presumably a borrowing from an unknown source (note the absence of rhotacism: if the word were inherited from Proto-Indo-European, the expected form would be *arinus or possibly *ānus), like Greek όνος (onos). The word probably has a Middle Eastern origin, c.f. the Sumerian ansu[1] and Hebrew, אָתוֹן (atón, “she-ass”). The resemblance to Sanskrit अश्व (aśva, “horse”) (Prakrit assa) is likely accidental.

Noun

ass (plural asses)

Somali wild ass
  1. Any of several species of horse-like animals, especially Equus africanus, often domesticated and used a beast of burden.
  2. (slang) A stupid person.
    Damn! That new kid left the cap off of the syrup bottle again! What an ass.
Synonyms
Hyponyms
Derived terms
See also
Translations
animal
stupid person

Etymology 2

Used chiefly in North America. From arse (used in the UK, Australia, New Zealand etc.) based on non-rhotic pronunciation (common in both England and US colonies – see bass, bust, and cuss), from Proto-Germanic} *arsaz. Cognates include the Old High German ars (German Arsch), Old Norse ars, Old Frisian ers and Ancient Greek ὄρρος (orros). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃érsos (“backside, buttocks, butt”).

Noun

ass (countable and uncountable; plural asses)

  1. (vulgar, slang) Buttocks.
  2. (vulgar, slang, uncountable) Sex.
    I’m going to go down to the bar and try to get me some ass.
  3. (vulgar, slang) Anus.
    • 1959, William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch, page 68
      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.
  4. (slang) Used in similes to express something bad or unpleasant.
    I feel like ass today (I am feeling very poorly today.)
    This room smells like ass. (This room smells very bad.)
    What a bunch of ass. (What a bunch of lies/nonsense/disappointment.)
  5. (slang) Used after an adjective to indicate extremes or excessiveness.
    That was one big-ass fish!
    That's an expensive-ass car!
  6. (slang) One's self or person, chiefly their body.
    Get your lazy ass out of bed!
Synonyms
Derived terms
Terms derived from ass (buttocks, vulgar)
Translations
buttocks
vulgar slang:sex
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Anagrams

References

  1. ^ “ass (1)” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).

Latvian

Vagona ass
Ass

Etymology 1

From Proto-Baltic *as-i-s, from Proto-Indo-European *aḱs- < *aǵ-es- < *aǵ- (“to move sth. (with extended arms); armpit”). Originally an i/n-stem, it became an i-stem in Baltic. Cognates include Lithuanian ašis, Old Prussian assis, Russian ось, Belarusian вось, Ukrainian вісь, Bulgarian ос, Czech os, Polish oś, Old High German ahsa, German Achse, Sanskrit अक्षः (ákṣaḥ), Ancient Greek ἅξων (háxōn) (Greek άξονας), Latin axis.[1]

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
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 (cf. Russian сажень (sážen', “old unit of measurement; length of outstretched arms”).[1]

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
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 Proto-Baltic *asus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed, edgy”). With an extra suffix *-ro, the same stem also yielded Proto-Baltic *ásro (“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 (cf. also, e.g., plats and plašs, or dobs and dobjš). Other cognates include Old Church Slavonic остръ (ostrǔ), Russian острый (óstryj), Belarusian востры (vóstry), Ukrainian острий, гострий (óstryj, hóstryj), Bulgarian остър (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 (“sharp, pointed”), Latin ācer (“sharp”), aciēs (“sharpness, blade”).[1]

Adjective

ass (def. asais, comp. asāks, sup. visasākais; adv. 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, 2001. Latviešu etimoloģijas vārdnīca. Rīga: AVOTS. ISBN 9984700127.

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, ultimately 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. 1st person plural of ec
    out of him/it

Derived terms

Swedish

Noun

ass n

  1. (music) A-flat
  2. an insured letter; Abbreviation of assurerat. (brev)

Declension

Declension of ass
singular plural
Neuter indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative ass asset ass assen
genitive ass assets ass assens

See also

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