Assess Vs. Asses, Meaning Of Each And Correct Use

In a battle of words, one letter can make a huge difference, even if they sound the same. One mistake can distort whatever we are trying to communicate.

To “Assess” is a verb that means “to estimate, judge or determine the value of something. “Asses” is the plural form of “ass,” an animal related to horses.

There are other meanings and uses of the word “ass,” but they belong to a more informal language. This time, I will discuss the accepted definitions found in the dictionary. There have been several words for which I first heard the informal or vulgar meaning, then the official one. In some cases, I heard them in the correct contexts but was confused because I only knew the slang version of the words. Imagine how embarrassing it would be to misuse these in public.

Origin Of The Words

The origin of these words appears to be similar at first glance. How much of a difference can an “S” make, right? is just one letter.

Assess: It dates back to the 15th century, and it was used to establish a fine or a tax amount.

It comes from several languages as Anglo-French with the word “assesser” and Medieval Latin with “assessare,” which means to fix a tax upon.”

When this word was born, the judge’s assistant was in charge of fixing the fines and taxes to be paid. Therefore, the original meaning evolved from that. In Latin, “assessus” means “a sitting by” or “adsidere/assidere (to sit beside).

Asses: This word is the plural form of “ass,” a family of domesticated horse-shaped animals used for transportation or burden.

The origin of ass is from Middle English “asse” and from Old English “assa.”

Other Definitions Of These Words

Assess

• To determine, estimate the value of.
• To evaluate.
• To charge or impose.
• To demand as punishment for a law violation.
• To calculate and charge (tax money pending) from an entity or a person.
• To official estimate for money-gathering for taxes.
• To determine or fix the amount of.
• Place a value on.
• Judge the worth of something.
• Estimate the value for taxation.

Asses

•  Any of the various domesticated species of horse-like animals are used as creatures of burden.
• A group of dumb people.
• The plural slang form of “ass” referring to the body part that we sit on.

To understand better the origin of “asses,” we have to dig deeper into the meaning of “ass.” Ass: Asses are small, sturdy animals, ranging from three to five feet in height. There are two types of them, and they are named according to the region of their location—for example, The African wild ass and The Asiatic wild ass.

Both of them differ in color. The African is grayish-blue in color. Meanwhile, the Asiatic is brighter in color, going from reddish to yellowish-gray. They are both whitish around the muzzles and their underparts, have tufted tails and dark, short, erect hairs lacking a forelock.

The majority of asses have a dark stripe on their backs, going from the mane to the tail.

The difference between the Asiatic wild ass and the African wild ass is in the long and slender legs of the Asian, smaller ears, and bigger hooves. Also, there is no alternating low tone that we are used to hearing in the “hee-haw” of regular donkeys and the African wild ass.

The ass is a speedy runner. Speeds of up to 40 mph have been recorded.

These animals were used and trained for work. They are lighter than donkeys, but eventually, they lost their jobs to them. They live in arid regions that don’t support other big mammals. But still, they are very territorial and dominant with other asses. Females have strong social bonds with their youngsters, to the point that there are herds consisting only of one stallion and several females with their small ones.

The African wild ass is an endangered species.

Other asses

There is another member of the horse family (Equidae) that is also named “ass.” That is the donkey. It is a domesticated animal and descends from a wild species, the African wild ass. Having already spoken about it, I’ll continue to speak about the donkey.

For at least five thousand years, donkeys have been used for working. There are approximately 40 million of them on this planet. Most of them live in underdeveloped countries. In contrast, in developed nations, a small number of donkeys are commonly kept for breeding or as pets.

Domesticated asses have existed in Mesopotamia and Egypt since around 3000 BC and are scattered across the globe.

Synonyms

These terms have synonyms that we can use if we don’t want to repeat the same word. Some of these words may vary slightly in definition, depending on the context in which they are used. Let’s start with “assess.”

Assess: Charge, exact, fine, impose, lay, levy, put, appraise, adjust, evaluate, rate, tax, value, demand, fix, judge, determine, estimate, analyze, evaluate, compute, check out, charge.

Asses or ass: Donkey.

Examples Of The Words In Sentences

1. The coach said that it is hard to train and assess the progress of some areas virtually. He needs to be here.
2. The workers need to assess the loss.
3. Donkeys are distant cousins of asses but stronger. Assess are more exotic, though. I want one as a pet.
4. They assessed the insurance payment for the car accident.
5. We will access cost vs expectation to determine what we can afford to pay the ghost writers.
6. An exam is not the only way of assessing a student’s education. Still, the teachers didn’t agree on another way to assess them.
7. It’s too late to assess the consequences of that decision. Time has passed, and we have moved on.
8. They assessed the result of protein absorption. It is still below average.
9. We hope to assess the new design early next year.
10. Authorities are pending to assess the damage produced by yesterday’s tornado.
11. The umpire assessed a fine for stopping the game for four hours without a valid explanation.
12. We can assess your abilities tomorrow afternoon on the field. Bring your best game.
13. I am here to assess what is in your heart.
14. I need you to assess the Types of Digital Media we are using for marketing.
15. They can send someone to assess the situation and report back.
16. All those assess at the zoo need our help. They are almost extinct.
17. You look worse than that ass we saw at the zoo. But I still like you.
18. I was qualified to protect and assess the system during any emergency.
19. The doctors already sent the assessment of the damage made to the lungs.
20. She wanted to assess how many people were there.

Conclusion

It is pretty amazing how two words that look almost identical could have such different meanings. One refers to a group of animals, and the other refers to something intangible.

Assess is an action that we do to gather information or assign something to a situation, like a penalty or a fine. We commonly use it in our daily conversations, not only with the word but also with its synonyms.

Asses are a group of horselike animals. They are a long-distance family member of the donkey and look very alike, only more exotic, in my opinion. Donkeys are called assess too, but the African Wild and the Asiatic Wild belong to their respective subspecies. The other definitions that are derived from that are just slang terms that have gained popularity.

To finalize, remember that when it comes to assess or asses, an “S” can make you the assistant of a judge or just a wild donkey.