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Added 9 October 2026

ass

/æs/ noun

In Latin: asinus, asellus, asella Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about ass at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The fleshy part of the human body that you sit on.
he deserves a good kick in the butt
A pompous fool.
Hardy and sure-footed animal smaller and with longer ears than the horse.

Origin

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”)).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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