Search Result for "equus asinus":
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. a wild ass of Africa;
[syn: African wild ass, Equus asinus]

2. domestic beast of burden descended from the African wild ass; patient but stubborn;
[syn: domestic ass, donkey, Equus asinus]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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. (Zool.) A quadruped of the genus Equus (Equus 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. [1913 Webster] 2. A dull, heavy, stupid fellow; a dolt. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

Equus asinus n 1: a wild ass of Africa [syn: African wild ass, Equus asinus] 2: domestic beast of burden descended from the African wild ass; patient but stubborn [syn: domestic ass, donkey, Equus asinus]