cess

[ses]

noun

British. a tax, assessment, or lien.

(in Scotland) a land tax.

(in Ireland) a military assessment.

(in India) an import or sales tax on a commodity.

verb (used with object)

British. to tax; assess.

Nearby words

Origin of cess

1400–50; late Middle English; aphetic variant of obsolete assess assessment, noun use of assess (v.)

cess

[ses]

noun Irish English Informal.

luck (usually used in the expression bad cess to): Bad cess to them!

Origin of cess

First recorded in 1855–60; perhaps aphetic variant of success

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cess

Cess; very often used in the combination bad cess (bad luck):—'Bad cess to me but there's something comin' over me.'
English As We Speak It in Ireland|P. W. Joyce
They say he has the taxes, too, in his power, and can cess you just as he likes.
The Martins Of Cro' Martin, Vol. II (of II)|Charles James Lever
Further clauses indict the inferior ministers occupied about the cess.
Ireland Under the Tudors, Vol. II (of 3)|Richard Bagwell
The P—-cess then spoke of some trifle from my pen, which was simply signed Goliah Gahagan.
Burlesques|William Makepeace Thackeray

Elle doit repartir aussitt que la cause qui en a justifi l'entre a cess.
International Law. A Treatise. Volume II (of 2)|Lassa Francis Oppenheim

British Dictionary definitions for cess

cess

noun

British any of several special taxes, such as a land tax in Scotland

(formerly, in Ireland)

the obligation to provide the soldiers and household of the lord deputy with supplies at fixed prices
any military exaction

verb

(tr) British to tax or assess for taxation

(formerly in Ireland) to impose (soldiers) upon a population, to be supported by them

Word Origin for cess

C16: short for assessment

noun

an Irish slang word for luck bad cess to you!

Word Origin for cess

C19: probably from cess 1 (sense 2)

noun

short for cesspool

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cess

cess

"tax, levy," 1530s, short for assess (q.v.).