ASS (O.E. assa;

See also:

• LAT

Lat. asinus)  , a common name (the synonym " donkey " is supposed to be derived either by analogy from " monkey," or from the Christian name Duncan; cf . Neddy, Jack, Dicky, &c.) for different varieties of the sub-genus Asinus, belonging to the horse tribe, and especially for the domestic ass; it differs from the horse in its smaller size, long ears, the character of its tail, fur and markings, and its proverbial dulness and obstinacy . The ancient Egyptians symbolized an ignorant person by the head and ears of an ass, and the Romans thought it a bad omen to meet one . In the middle ages the Germans of Westphalia made the ass the symbol of St Thomas,the incredulous apostle; the boy who was last to enter school on St Thomas' day was called the " Ass Thomas " (Gubernatis's Zoological Mythology, i . 362) . The foolishness and obstinacy of the ass has caused the name to be transferred metaphorically to human beings; and the fifth proposition of Book i. of Euclid is known as the Pons Asinorum, bridge of asses .