Assay : (noun)
1: an appraisal of the state of affairs; "they made an assay of
the contents"; "a check on its dependability under
stress" [syn: check]
2: a substance that is undergoing an analysis of its components
3: a written report of the results of an analysis of the
composition of some substance
4: a quantitative or qualitative test of a substance
(especially an ore or a drug) to determine its components;
frequently used to test for the presence or concentration
of infectious agents or antibodies etc.
(verb)
1: analyze (chemical substances)
2: make an effort or attempt; "He tried to shake off his
fears"; "The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps"; "The
police attempted to stop the thief"; "He sought to improve
himself"; "She always seeks to do good in the world" [syn:
try, seek, attempt, essay]
Based on WordNet 2.0
|
|
Assay : \As*say"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assayed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Assaying.] [OF. asaier, essaier, F. essayer, fr. essai. See
Assay, n., Essay, v.]
1. To try; to attempt; to apply. [Obs. or Archaic]
To-night let us assay our plot. --Shak.
Soft words to his fierce passion she assayed.
--Milton.
2. To affect. [Obs.]
When the heart is ill assayed. --Spenser.
3. To try tasting, as food or drink. [Obs.]
4. To subject, as an ore, alloy, or other metallic compound,
to chemical or metallurgical examination, in order to
determine the amount of a particular metal contained in
it, or to ascertain its composition.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
|
|
Assay : \As*say"\, n. [OF. asai, essai, trial, F. essa. See
Essay, n.]
1. Trial; attempt; essay. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
I am withal persuaded that it may prove much more
easy in the assay than it now seems at distance.
--Milton.
2. Examination and determination; test; as, an assay of bread
or wine. [Obs.]
This can not be, by no assay of reason. --Shak.
3. Trial by danger or by affliction; adventure; risk;
hardship; state of being tried. [Obs.]
Through many hard assays which did betide.
--Spenser.
4. Tested purity or value. [Obs.]
With gold and pearl of rich assay. --Spenser.
5. (Metallurgy) The act or process of ascertaining the
proportion of a particular metal in an ore or alloy;
especially, the determination of the proportion of gold or
silver in bullion or coin.
6. The alloy or metal to be assayed. --Ure.
Usage: Assay and essay are radically the same word; but
modern usage has appropriated assay chiefly to
experiments in metallurgy, and essay to intellectual
and bodily efforts. See Essay.
Note: Assay is used adjectively or as the first part of a
compound; as, assay balance, assay furnace.
Assay master, an officer who assays or tests gold or silver
coin or bullion.
Assay ton, a weight of 29,1662/3 grams.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
|
|
Assay : \As*say"\, v. i.
To attempt, try, or endeavor. [Archaic. In this sense essay
is now commonly used.]
She thrice assayed to speak. --Dryden.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
|
|
ASSAY. A chemical examination of metals, by which the quantity of valuable
or precious metal contained in any mineral or metallic mixture is
ascertained. 2. By the acts of Congress of March 3, 1823, 3 Story's L. U. S.
1924; of June 25, 1834, 4 Shars. cont. Story's L. U. S. 2373; and of June
28, 1834, Id. 2377, it is made the duty of the secretary of the treasury to
cause assays to be made at the mint of the United States, of certain coins
made current by the said acts, and to make report of the result thereof to
congress.
Based on Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [Bouvier_Law_Dictionary]:
|
|
Assay : Assay: An assay is an analysis done to determine: - The presence of a substance and the amount of that substance. Thus, an assay may be done for example to determine the level of
thyroid hormones in the blood of a person suspected of being hypothyroid (or hyperthyroid).
- The biological or pharmacological potency of a drug. For example, an assay may be done of a vaccine
to determine its potency.
Assay is also used as a verb and has several related meanings in this role: - To try or attempt. For example, "she assayed this operation for the first time and so was understandably
nervous."
- To analyze a mixture for one or more of its components
- To judge the value, the worth of something.
The words "assay" and "essay" are often confounded, a cardinal sin according to some word mavens. However, "assay" and "essay" share a common ancestry. Both words come from the French "essai" which
in turn came from the Late Latin "exagium" meaning the "act of weighing".
Based on Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [Bouvier_Law_Dictionary]:
|
|
|
|
