Category:Ass

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

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: 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. Etym: [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.

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Ass - Asinus, (a subgenus of Equus) that includes the donkey and other such animals or the donkey, (Equus africanus asinus).

Frequently mentioned throughout Scripture. Of the domesticated species we read of, (1.) The she donkey (Heb. 'athon ), so named from its slowness (Genesis 12:16; Genesis 45:23; Numbers 22:23; 1 Samuel 9:3). (2.) The male donkey (Heb. hamor ), the common working donkey of Western Asia, so called from its red color. Issachar is compared to a strong donkey (Genesis 49:14). It was forbidden to yoke together an donkey and an ox in the plough (Deuteronomy 22:10). (3.) The donkey's colt (Heb. 'air ), mentioned Judges 10:4; Judges 12:14. It is rendered "foal" in Genesis 32:15; Genesis 49:11. (Compare Job 11:12; Isaiah 30:6.) The donkey is an unclean animal, because it does not chew the cud (Leviticus 11:26. Compare 2 Kings 6:25). donkeys constituted a considerable portion of wealth in ancient times (Genesis 12:16; Genesis 30:43; 1 Chronicles 27:30; Job 1:3; Job 42:12). They were noted for their spirit and their attachment to their master (Isaiah 1:3). They are frequently spoken of as having been ridden upon, as by Abraham (Genesis 22:3), Balaam (Numbers 22:21), the disobedient prophet (1 Kings 13:23), the family of Abdon the judge, seventy in number (Judges 12:14), Zipporah (Exodus 4:20), the Shunammite (1 Samuel 25:30), etc. Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9) predicted our Lord's triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, "riding upon an donkey, and upon a colt," etc. (Matthew 21:5, R.V.). Of wild donkeys two species are noticed, (1.) that called in Hebrew 'arod, mentioned Job 39:5 and Daniel 5:21, noted for its swiftness; and (2.) that called pe're, the wild donkey of Asia (Job 39:6; Job 6:5; Job 11:12; Isaiah 32:14; Jeremiah 2:24; Jeremiah 14:6, etc.). The wild donkey was distinguished for its fleetness and its extreme shyness. In allusion to his mode of life, Ishmael is likened to a wild donkey (Genesis 16:12. Here the word is simply rendered "wild" or "wild-donkey among men").