cess

¹

[ ses ]

noun

1. British. a tax, assessment, or lien.
2. (in Scotland) a land tax.
3. (in Ireland) a military assessment.
4. (in India) an import or sales tax on a commodity.

verb (used with object)

1. British. to tax; assess.

cess

²

[ ses ]

noun

, Irish English Informal.

1. luck (usually used in the expression bad cess to ):

   Bad cess to them!

cess

¹

/ sɛs /

noun

1. short for cesspool

cess

²

/ sɛs /

noun

1. an Irish slang word for luck

   bad cess to you!

cess

³

/ sɛs /

noun

1. any of several special taxes, such as a land tax in Scotland
2. formerly, in Ireland
   1. the obligation to provide the soldiers and household of the lord deputy with supplies at fixed prices
   2. any military exaction

verb

1. tr to tax or assess for taxation
2. (formerly in Ireland) to impose (soldiers) upon a population, to be supported by them

Word History and Origins

Origin of cess¹

1400–50; late Middle English; aphetic variant of obsolete assess assessment, noun use of assess (v.)

Origin of cess²

First recorded in 1855–60; perhaps aphetic variant of success

Word History and Origins

Origin of cess¹

C19: probably from cess ¹(sense 2)

Origin of cess²

C16: short for assessment

Example Sentences

The comments are where the cess is pooled.

From Washington Post

The release alleges that Jessica “Cess Milla” Heyliger, 35, of Jamaica, Queens, was the “principal dealer of the weapons,” with Richmond-based Laquan Benson, 36, acting as “her main supplier.”

From Fox News

Newly resurfaced footage shows the president describing Epstein’s private Carribean island as a “cess pool.”

From Fox News

The excavation has revealed a "rare glimpse" of timber-built Roman military buildings, as well as rubbish and cess pits.

From BBC

Sharon Ament, the museum’s director had been thinking about the possibility of displaying a fatberg in the museum – whose collection includes a variety of valuable objects retrieved from drains and cess pits and sewers from Roman times on – since the previous big find in Chinatown in Soho.

From The Guardian