Definition: ass

Source: WordNet (r) 1.7

ass
     n 1: the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on [syn: buttocks,
           nates, arse, butt, backside, bum, buns, can,
           fundament, hindquarters, hind end, keister, posterior,
           prat, rear, rear end, rump, stern, seat, tail,
           tail end, tooshie, tush, bottom, behind, derriere,
           fanny]
     2: a pompous fool
     3: hardy and sure-footed animal smaller and with longer ears
        than the horse
     4: slang terms for sexual intercourse [syn: fuck, fucking,
        screw, screwing, nooky, nookie, piece of ass, roll
        in the hay, shag, shtup]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Ass \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. [ae]sel, Lith. asilas,
   Bohem. osel, Pol. osiel. The word is prob. of Semitic origin;
   cf. Heb. ath?n she ass. Cf. Ease.]
   1. (Zo["o]l.) A quadruped of the genus Equus (E. 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.

   2. A dull, heavy, stupid fellow; a dolt. --Shak.

   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.

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.

Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

Ass
   frequently mentioned throughout Scripture. Of the domesticated
   species we read of, (1.) The she ass (Heb. 'athon), so named
   from its slowness (Gen. 12:16; 45:23; Num. 22:23; 1 Sam. 9:3).
   (2.) The male ass (Heb. hamor), the common working ass of
   Western Asia, so called from its red colour. Issachar is
   compared to a strong ass (Gen. 49:14). It was forbidden to yoke
   together an ass and an ox in the plough (Deut. 22:10). (3.) The
   ass's colt (Heb. 'air), mentioned Judg. 10:4; 12:14. It is
   rendered "foal" in Gen. 32:15; 49:11. (Comp. Job 11:12; Isa.
   30:6.) The ass is an unclean animal, because it does not chew
   the cud (Lev. 11:26. Comp. 2 Kings 6:25). Asses constituted a
   considerable portion of wealth in ancient times (Gen. 12:16;
   30:43; 1 Chr. 27:30; Job 1:3; 42:12). They were noted for their
   spirit and their attachment to their master (Isa. 1:3). They are
   frequently spoken of as having been ridden upon, as by Abraham
   (Gen. 22:3), Balaam (Num. 22:21), the disobedient prophet (1
   Kings 13:23), the family of Abdon the judge, seventy in number
   (Judg. 12:14), Zipporah (Ex. 4:20), the Shunammite (1 Sam.
   25:30), etc. Zechariah (9:9) predicted our Lord's triumphal
   entrance into Jerusalem, "riding upon an ass, and upon a colt,"
   etc. (Matt. 21:5, R.V.).
   
     Of wild asses two species are noticed, (1) that called in
   Hebrew _'arod_, mentioned Job 39:5 and Dan. 5:21, noted for its
   swiftness; and (2) that called _pe're_, the wild ass of Asia
   (Job 39:6-8; 6:5; 11:12; Isa. 32:14; Jer. 2:24; 14:6, etc.). The
   wild ass was distinguished for its fleetness and its extreme
   shyness. In allusion to his mode of life, Ishmael is likened to
   a wild ass (Gen. 16:12. Here the word is simply rendered "wild"
   in the Authorized Version, but in the Revised Version, "wild-ass
   among men").