Where does “scary-ass” come from?

scary-ass (English) comes from English ass, from Middle English asse, from Old English assa, from Old English assen, from Latin asinus, from Latin acinus, from Latin acies, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eḱ- — sharp.

scary-ass (English): A cowardly person

Definitions

  1. A cowardly person

Ancestry of “scary-ass”, step by step

scary-ass traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English ass

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishassAny of several species of horse-like animals,...
2Middle EnglishasseAlternative form of axen
3Old Englishassaass, donkey
4Old Englishassenshe-ass
5Latinasinusa donkey, an ass; an ass, an idiot, a dolt, a...
6Latinacinusa berry, especially the grape; the seed of a...
7Latinaciessharp edge or point; battle line; battle,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eḱ-sharp

via English scary

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishscaryCausing or able to cause fright; Uncannily...
2English-yAdded to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives...
3Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
4Old English-iġ-y, -ic
5Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
6Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
7Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eḱ-Every word from Latin aciesEvery word from Latin acinus