arse

American  

[ahrs] / ɑrs /

noun

Chiefly British Slang: Vulgar.

1. ass.

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arse British  

/ ɑːs /

noun

1. the buttocks

2. the anus

3. a stupid person; fool

4. sexual intercourse

5. effrontery; cheek

6. to start to do something seriously and quickly

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Sensitive Note

In American English, ass in the senses "the buttocks; the rectum" is considered to be a vulgar, impolite usage. The variant arse , which is chiefly British and regarded as vulgar by speakers of British English, seems to some American speakers to be a less vulgar, even daintier term than the more explicit ass . But​ this may not always be the case in America, so one should be just as cautious about using arse when in a polite setting.

Usage

Dating back at least a thousand years, and taboo till around the middle of the 20th century, this venerable ``Anglo-Saxon'' word now seems unlikely to cause offence in all but the most formal contexts. Its acceptability has possibly been helped by such useful verb formations as ``to arse about'' and ``I can't be arsed''

Etymology

Origin of arse

First recorded before 1000; Middle English ars, er(e)s, Old English ærs, ears; cognate with Old Frisian ers, Dutch aars, Old Norse, Middle Low German, Old Saxon, Old High German ars ( German Arsch ), Greek órrhos “rump” (from orso-, which occurs in compounds), Armenian or̄kh, Hittite arras; akin to Greek ourá and Old Irish err “tail.” All of the nouns derive from the Proto-Indo-European root ers-, ors- “backside, buttocks, tail.” Cf. ass ²

Example Sentences

The Brits are the people who seem to cultivate it more than others and have named its fruit “the cat arse fruit” for obvious reasons.

From Seattle Times • May 24, 2024

Princess Diana's brother on Wednesday refuted former President Donald Trump's claim that his late sister wanted to "kiss his arse."

From Salon • Mar. 16, 2023

"It was just meant to make sure people weren't left on their arse," he said in a video posted to Twitter.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2020

“COVID-19 is affecting guys going into Mozambique, it’s affecting Chinese and Korean financiers, and clearly you’ve had the arse drop out of the oil market,” said a source with knowledge of the project.

From Reuters • Mar. 20, 2020

Before he leaves his house he always sticks his head out the door and tells the lane, Here’s me head, me arse is coming.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt