arse

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ɑrs/ UK /ɑːs/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
vulgar British term for the buttocks or a foolish person

He slipped on the ice and landed flat on his arse.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · vulgar british term for the... buttocks backside bottom rear behind rump ass

Word family

Derived forms arsehole

Related forms ass

Etymology

From Old English ears ('buttocks, fundament'), from Proto-Germanic *arsaz, cognate with German Arsch and Greek órros ('rump').

ears Old English *arsaz Proto-Germanic *h₃ers- Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

People & Society Register & Style

# arse

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ɑrs
**IPA (UK):** ɑːs

## Meanings
1. vulgar British term for the buttocks or a foolish person

## Examples
- He slipped on the ice and landed flat on his arse.

## Synonyms
- buttocks
- backside
- bottom
- rear
- behind
- rump
- ass

## Derived Forms
- arsehole

## Related Forms
- ass

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ears
- Root: *arsaz
- Root: *h₃ers-

## Etymology
From Old English ears ('buttocks, fundament'), from Proto-Germanic *arsaz, cognate with German Arsch and Greek órros ('rump').

## AI Etymology
Arse is from Old English ears ('buttocks, fundament'), from Proto-Germanic *arsaz, cognate with German Arsch and Greek órros ('rump'). Important recorded forms include ears (Old English), *arsaz (Proto-Germanic), and *h₃ers- (Proto-Indo-European). The current sense covers vulgar British term for the buttocks or a foolish person. The wider family includes derived forms such as arsehole and related words such as ass.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Register & Style

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