Arse
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225816434
2008-07-15T15:19:33Z
CambridgeBayWeather
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/59.189.231.91|59.189.231.91]] ([[User talk:59.189.231.91|talk]]) to last version by J.delanoy
'''Arse''' is an informal [[English language|English]] term referring to the [[buttocks]], which is commonly used in [[English speaking countries]] such as the [[British English|United Kingdom]], [[Ireland]], [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], parts of [[Canada]] and former parts of the [[British Empire]]. In the [[United States]] and other parts of [[Canada]] the variant form '''[[ass]]''' is used.
== Etymology ==
"Arse", from [[Old English language|Old English]] ''ærs''<ref>Spelling varied; one of the earliest recorded spellings (circa 1000) is ''ears''. Source: [www.oed.com Oxford English Dictionary]</ref> "tail, rump," from Proto-Germanic root ''arsoz'' (cf. [[Old Norse]] ''ars'', Middle Dutch ''ærs''), which meaning [[ass]] (see also: [[arsehole]]), and by extension the crease between the buttocks of any animal (see also:[[buttcrack]]), but especially the human bottom. There are many [[cognate]]s such as [[German language|German]] ''Arsch'', [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''aars'' (meaning anus), [[Scots language|Scots]] ''airse'', [[Swedish language|Swedish]] ''arsle'' or ''arsel'' bottom (from earlier ''ars-hål'' anus) and [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] ''rass'' (through [[Metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]]). Greek ''orros'' "tail, rump, base of the spine," Hittite ''arrash'', Old Irish ''err'' "tail" has been connected with it. Arse or ass, in this sense, has no etymological common root with the word "ass" when it refers to the [[donkey]].
The word arse was not always impolite or informal.{{Fact|date = June 2008}} The [[Norman Conquest]] brought about linguistic change in English, affecting the prestige of many native Anglo-Saxon words which referred to private body parts.
==Modern usage==
*Until the late 18th century, "ass" presumably had no profane meaning, and simply referred to the animal now mostly known as the [[donkey]]. Because of the increasingly non-[[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|rhotic]] nature of standard British English, "arse" was often rendered "ass".{{Fact|date = June 2008}} However, indirect evidence of the change from arse to ass can be traced back to 1785 (in euphemistic avoidance of ass "donkey" by polite speakers){{Fact|date = June 2008}} and perhaps to Shakespeare, if Nick Bottom transformed into a donkey in "[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]" (1594) is such a word-play. This usage was also adopted in America, which is why the word "arse" is not usually used in the [[United States]]. The age of Victorian propriety resulted in the renaming of the [[horse]]-like [[animal]], changing the name to "donkey" (not recorded in English before 1785, slang, perhaps from dun "dull grey-brown,"{{Fact|date = June 2008}} the form perhaps influenced by [[monkey]], or possibly from a familiar form of Duncan, cf. [[dobbin]]) to avoid any improper inferences. Although before [[World War I]] they were similar, the English pronunciations of "ass" {{IPAEng|ˈæs}} and "arse" {{IPA|/ˈɑːs/}} are now quite different in many English-speaking countries. Although arse is commonly used in Atlantic Canada, west of the Ottawa river, ''ass'' is more idiomatic.{{Fact|date = June 2008}}
*In addition to its above literal uses to refer to the [[buttocks]] (see that article also for synonyms in that sense), "ass" is commonly employed to denote either a) an idiot or stupid person, referring to the alleged stupidity of the [[donkey]], as in: "Don't be such an ass! You're acting like you're five years old!", or [[pleonasm|pleonastically]] in "dumb ass"; b) as a short-hand for [[asshole]] (itself first attested in 1935), referring to an egoistic person who is acting to make others miserable; or c) a woman regarded as a sexual object, recorded since 1942. In British usage the word is not considered profane so much as coarse—for example, most Britons wouldn't consider it as strong as "shit". However, the word is sufficiently strong that when [[Prince Harry]] used it in a 2005 TV interview the event was given significant press coverage, even if very little outright disapproval was expressed{{Fact|date=April 2007}}. In America it is considered to be a coarser expression and would be frowned upon in polite society, but "arse" is almost never used in the United States, as such—most Americans would assume that the word "ass" was being used.
*It is also a curse-like exclamation, e.g. one of the four catchphrases attributed to the character [[Father Jack Hackett|Father Jack]] in the [[Channel 4]] TV show [[Father Ted]], in which the said character repeatedly shouts 'ARSE!', and other monosyllabic words of varying coarseness, for no apparent reason. The similar use of "arse" by [[Bob Fleming]]'s friend [[Jed Thomas]] on [[The Fast Show]] is a speech impediment.
*'''Arsebandit''', a British English slang term for a male homosexual, is an example of the association of the organ with gay men, regardless of whether or not anal sex is involved.
*'''Bare-arse''' or '''Bare-ass''' means with the bottom bared, but is also used as a ''[[pars pro toto]]'' for [[nudity]], especially in a context where it implies full or at least 'strategic' exposure, as for [[spanking]] or [[mooning]]; a similar expression (for males only) is ''bare balls''. '''Bare-arsed''' can also mean impertinent, e.g. about a [[cheek]]y act "the bare-arsed cheek of it".
*'''Arseload''' or '''assload''' to refer to a large but unspecified quantity.
*'''Arsewipe''' or '''asswipe''' can refer to someone who is unimportant or petty.
Modern synonyms (often [[euphemisms]] or [[dysphemisms]]) include:
* Hole, in various compounds including the popular [[arsehole]], often referring to the use of the organ for fecal secretion (as in dung-hole, shit-hole) or for coitus (such as fuck-hole), while boy-hole and man-hole emphasize homosexual practices or simply the anatomical difference from the female.
* Split ("Split-arse or [[split-ring]]"), ''Midlands and North of England'' - a rare but phonetically potent term of reference used to indicate a female of poor character and worth and reduce her to genitalia only. A common American version with the same meaning is "split-tail".
* "Aris", which is double [[rhyming slang]]: [[Aristotle]] (bottle), bottle and glass (arse).
==Sources and references==
*[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=arse&searchmode=none Etymology OnLine - arse], [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=ass&searchmode=none ass], & [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=donkey&searchmode=none donkey]
*[http://www.britannia.org/scotland/scotsdictionary/e.shtml ScotsDictionary]
== See also ==
* [[Scatolinguistics]]
* [[Devil's Arse]] (cavern)
* [[Sweere-arse]] (game)
[[Category:Profanity]]
[[de:Arsch]]
[[ru:Ягодицы]]