资料来源 : 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.