arse
UK /ɑːs/ · US /ɑɹs/ noun, verb, interjection
Forms arses arsing arsed ass
- noun (Commonwealth) A person's buttocks; the bottom, the backside. Also: the anus; the rectum.
- noun (chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, derogatory, slang) A stupid, pompous, arrogant, mean or despicable person.
- noun (slang, uncountable) Used in similes to express something bad or unpleasant.
- noun (slang, metonymic, 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.
- verb (Commonwealth, slang, intransitive) To be silly, act stupid or mess around. “Stop arsing around!”
- interjection (Commonwealth) An expression of frustration.
Synonyms
'tocks arse cheeks ass ass cheeks back backside batty behind blessed assurance booty botty bottom bum bum cheeks buns butt butt cheeks buttocks caboose cheeks nates can fundament hindquarters hind end keister posterior prat rear rear end
Etymology
From Middle English ars, ers, from Old English ærs, ears, from Proto-West Germanic *ars, from Proto-Germanic *arsaz (compare Dutch aars and German Arsch), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁órsos (“backside, buttocks”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “arse”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details