Etymology

open-arse

Today it means: The medlar fruit. Full definition →

First used 10th c.Middle English open-ers ← Old English openears
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromopenears
  2. Middle English · inherited fromopen-ers
  3. English todayopen-arse

From Middle English open-ers, from Old English openears, corresponding to open + arse, ‘with allusion to the large cavity at the end of the fruit between the persistent calyx lobes’ – OED3.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 10th c. The medlar fruit.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.