- arsehole
- c.1400, arce-hoole; see arse.
- arse
- "buttocks," O.E. ærs "tail, rump," from P.Gmc. *arsoz (cf. O.N. ars, M.Du. ærs, Ger. Arsch "buttock"), cognate with Gk. orros "tail, rump, base of the spine," Hittite arrash, Arm. or "buttock," O.Ir. err "tail." Arsy-versy "backside foremost" first attested 1530s.
- wheatear
- type of bird, 1591, back-formation from white-ears, lit. "white-arse" (see white + arse). So called for its color markings; cf. Fr. name for the bird, cul-blanc, lit. "white rump."
- ass (2)
- slang for "backside," first attested 1860 in nautical slang, in popular use from 1930; chiefly U.S.; from dial. variant pronunciation of arse (q.v.). The loss of -r- before -s- attested in several other words (e.g. burst/bust, curse/cuss, horse/hoss, barse/bass). Indirect evidence of the change from arse to ass can be traced to 1785 (in euphemistic avoidance of ass "donkey" by polite speakers) and perhaps to Shakespeare, if Nick Bottom transformed into a donkey in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1594) is the word-play some think it is. Meaning "woman regarded as a sexual object" is from 1942.
- bumbailiff
- server of writs, maker of arrests, etc., c.1600, from bum "arse," because he was always felt to be close behind.
- D.A.
- Amer.Eng., acronym for district attorney from 1934; for duck's ass haircut (or, as OED would have it, duck's arse), from 1951. So called for the shape of it at the back of the head.
- pot (1)
- "vessel," from late O.E. pott and O.Fr. pot, both from a general Low Gmc. and Romanic word from V.L. *pottus, of uncertain origin, said by OED to be unconnected to L.L. potus "drinking cup" (c.600). Celtic forms are said to be borrowed from Eng. and French. Slang meaning "large sum of money staked on a bet" is attested from 1823. Potbellied is first attested 1657; potholder is from 1928. Pot roast is from 1881; pot-pie is 1823, Amer.Eng.; phrase go to pot (16c.) suggests cooking. Potboiler in the literary sense is 1864, from notion of something one writes just to put food on the table. Potted in the fig. sense of "put into a short, condensed form" is attested from 1866. In phrases, the pot calls the kettle black-arse is from c.1700; shit or get off the pot is traced by Partridge to Canadian armed forces in World War II.
- cunt
- "female intercrural foramen," or, as some 18c. writers refer to it, "the monosyllable," M.E. cunte "female genitalia," akin to O.N. kunta, from P.Gmc. *kunton, of uncertain origin. Some suggest a link with L. cuneus "wedge," others to PIE base *geu- "hollow place," still others to PIE *gwen-, root of queen and Gk. gyne "woman." The form is similar to L. cunnus "female pudenda," which is likewise of disputed origin, perhaps lit. "gash, slit," from PIE *sker- "to cut," or lit. "sheath," from PIE *kut-no-, from base *(s)keu- "to conceal, hide." First known reference in Eng. is said to be c.1230 Oxford or London street name Gropecuntlane, presumably a haunt of prostitutes. Avoided in public speech since 15c.; considered obscene since 17c. Du. cognate de kont means "a bottom, an arse." Du. also has attractive poetic slang ways of expressing this part, such as liefdesgrot, lit. "cave of love," and vleesroos "rose of flesh." Alternative form cunny is attested from c.1720 but is certainly much earlier and forced a change in the pronunciation of coney (q.v.), but it was good for a pun while coney was still the common word for "rabbit": "A pox upon your Christian cockatrices! They cry, like poulterers' wives, 'No money, no coney.' " [Massinger, 1622]