An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/As

by Friedrich Kluge

As, n., Aß, ModHG. only, from the equiv. Fr. as, m., ‘the ace (of dice or cards), a small weight’ (Lat. as). In MidHG. the prevalent term for the ‘ace (of dice)’ was esse, which comes from Lat. assis (a later collateral form of as). Comp. Daus.