ass

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

ass, n. [OE. asse, AS. assa; akin to Icel. asni, W. asen, asyn, L. asinus, dim. aselus, Gr. ; also to AS. esol, OHG. esil, G. esel, Goth. asilus, Dan. æsel, Lith. asilas, Bohem. osel, Pol. osiel. The word is prob. of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. athn she ass. Cf. Ease.].

•  A quadruped of the genus Equus (Equus asinus), smaller than the horse, and having a peculiarly harsh bray and long ears. The tame or domestic ass is patient, slow, and sure-footed, and has become the type of obstinacy and stupidity. There are several species of wild asses which are swift-footed.  [1913 Webster]
•  A dull, heavy, stupid fellow; a dolt.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

Asses' Bridge. [L. pons asinorum.] The fifth proposition of the first book of Euclid, “The angles at the base of an isosceles triangle are equal to one another.” [Sportive] “A schoolboy, stammering out his Asses' Bridge.” F. Harrison. -- To make an ass of one's self, to do or say something very foolish or absurd.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

ass, n. & v.
--n.
1 a either of two kinds of four-legged long-eared mammal of the horse genus Equus, E. africanus of Africa and E. hemionus of Asia. b (in general use) a donkey.
2 a stupid person.
--v.intr. sl. (foll. by about, around) act the fool.

Idiom

asses' bridge = PONS ASINORUM. make an ass of make (a person) look absurd or foolish.

ass, n. US var. of ARSE.

DEVIL DICTIONARY

ass

n. A public singer with a good voice but no ear. In Virginia City, Nevada, he is called the Washoe Canary, in Dakota, the Senator, and everywhere the Donkey. The animal is widely and variously celebrated in the literature, art and religion of every age and country; no other so engages and fires the human imagination as this noble vertebrate. Indeed, it is doubted by some (Ramasilus, _lib. II., De Clem._, and C. Stantatus, _De Temperamente_) if it is not a god; and as such we know it was worshiped by the Etruscans, and, if we may believe Macrobious, by the Cupasians also. Of the only two animals admitted into the Mahometan Paradise along with the souls of men, the ass that carried Balaam is one, the dog of the Seven Sleepers the other. This is no small distinction. From what has been written about this beast might be compiled a library of great splendor and magnitude, rivalling that of the Shakespearean cult, and that which clusters about the Bible. It may be said, generally, that all literature is more or less Asinine.

"Hail, holy Ass!" the quiring angels sing;
"Priest of Unreason, and of Discords King!"
Great co-Creator, let Thy glory shine:
God made all else, the Mule, the Mule is thine!"
G.J.

THESAURUS

ass

Rocky Mountain canary, Siberian husky, act of love, adultery, aphrodisia, arse, balling, beast of burden, bigot, bitter-ender, born fool, buffoon, bullethead, bum, burro, camel, can, carnal knowledge, cheeks, climax, clown, cohabitation, coition, coitus, coitus interruptus, commerce, congress, connection, coupling, cuddy, dickey, diddling, diehard, dogmatist, donkey, doodle, draft animal, dromedary, egregious ass, elephant, fanatic, fanny, figure of fun, fool, fornication, hardnose, horse, hot number, husky, ignoramus, intercourse, intimacy, intransigeant, intransigent, jack, jackass, jennet, jenny, jenny ass, keister, last-ditcher, llama, lovemaking, lunatic, making it with, malamute, marital relations, marriage act, mating, maverick, meat, milksop, mooncalf, mule, neddy, onanism, orgasm, ovum, ox, pack horse, pareunia, perfect fool, perverse fool, piece, piece of ass, piece of meat, pighead, positivist, prat, procreation, purist, reindeer, relations, rusty-dusty, schmuck, screwing, sex, sex act, sex goddess, sex object, sex queen, sexual climax, sexual commerce, sexual congress, sexual intercourse, sexual relations, sexual union, sledge dog, sleeping with, softhead, sop, sperm, standpat, standpatter, stern, stickler, stud, stupid ass, sumpter, sumpter horse, sumpter mule, tail, tomfool, tuchis, tush, tushy, venery, zany

ROGET THESAURUS

ass

Carrier

N carrier, porter, bearer, tranter, conveyer, cargador, express, expressman, stevedore, coolie, conductor, locomotive, motor, beast, beast of burden, cattle, horse, nag, palfrey, Arab, blood horse, thoroughbred, galloway, charger, courser, racer, hunter, jument, pony, filly, colt, foal, barb, roan, jade, hack, bidet, pad, cob, tit, punch, roadster, goer, racehorse, pack horse, draft horse, cart horse, dray horse, post horse, ketch, Shetland pony, shelty, sheltie, garran, garron, jennet, genet, bayard, mare, stallion, gelding, bronco, broncho, cayuse, creature, critter, cow pony, mustang, Narraganset, waler, stud, Pegasus, Bucephalus, Rocinante, ass, donkey, jackass, mule, hinny, sumpter horse, sumpter mule, burro, cuddy, ladino, reindeer, camel, dromedary, llama, elephant, carrier pigeon, pallet, brace, cart, dolley, support, fork lift, carriage, ship, equine, asinine.

Fool

N fool, idiot, tomfool, wiseacre, simpleton, witling, dizzard, donkey, ass, ninny, ninnyhammer, chowderhead, chucklehead, dolt, booby, Tom Noddy, looby, hoddy-doddy, noddy, nonny, noodle, nizy, owl, goose, goosecap, imbecile, gaby, radoteur, nincompoop, badaud, zany, trifler, babbler, pretty fellow, natural, niais, child, baby, infant, innocent, milksop, sop, oaf, lout, loon, lown, dullard, doodle, calf, colt, buzzard, block, put, stick, stock, numps, tony, bull head, dunderhead, addlehead, blockhead, dullhead, loggerhead, jolthead, jolterhead, beetlehead, beetlebrain, grosshead, muttonhead, noodlehead, giddyhead, numbskull, thickskull, lackbrain, shallowbrain, dimwit, halfwit, lackwit, dunderpate, lunkhead sawney, gowk, clod, clod-hopper, clod-poll, clot-poll, clot-pate, bull calf, gawk, Gothamite, lummox, rube, men of Boeotia, wise men of Gotham, un sot a triple etage, sot, jobbernowl, changeling, mooncalf, gobemouche, dotard, driveler, old fogey, old woman, crock, crone, grandmother, cotquean, henhussy, incompetent (insanity), greenhorn, dunce, lubber, madman, one who will not set the Thames on fire, one who did not invent gunpowder, qui n'a pas invente' la poudre, no conjuror, fortuna favet fatuis, les fous font les festinas et les sages les mangen, nomina stultorum parietibus harrent, stultorum plena sunt omnia.