Where does “smartassy” come from?
smartassy (English) comes from English smartass, from English -ass, from English ass, from Middle English asse, from Old English assa, from Old English assen, from Latin asinus, from Latin acinus — sharp.
Ancestry of “smartassy”, step by step
smartassy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English smartass
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | smartass | One who is particularly insolent, who tends to... |
| 2 | English | -ass | Used to intensify an adjective; Used to convert... |
| 3 | English | ass | Any of several species of horse-like animals,... |
| 4 | Middle English | asse | Alternative form of axen |
| 5 | Old English | assa | ass, donkey |
| 6 | Old English | assen | she-ass |
| 7 | Latin | asinus | a donkey, an ass; an ass, an idiot, a dolt, a... |
| 8 | Latin | acinus | a berry, especially the grape; the seed of a... |
| 9 | Latin | acies | sharp edge or point; battle line; battle,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eḱ- | sharp |
via English Y
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Y | A figure or mark in the shape of the letter Y; A... |
| 2 | English | yuri | A narrative or visual work featuring a romance or... |
| 3 | Japanese | 百合 | lily |
| 4 | Japanese | 連用形 | an inflectional category: the continuative or... |
| 5 | Japanese | 見る | to see, to watch, to observe, to look at... |
| 6 | Japanese | 夢 | a dream; a vision; leaving reality to the state... |
| 7 | Old Japanese | 夢 | a dream |
| 8 | Japanese | 目 | an order in biology: smaller than a class, bigger... |
| 9 | Middle Chinese | 目 | — |