Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Qualitative or quantitative analysis of a metal or ore to determine its components.
- noun A substance to be so analyzed.
- noun The result of such an analysis.
- noun A bioassay.
- noun An analysis or examination.
- noun Archaic An attempt; an essay.
- intransitive verb To subject (a metal, for example) to chemical analysis so as to determine the strength or quality of its components.
- intransitive verb To bioassay.
- intransitive verb To examine by trial or experiment; put to a test.
- intransitive verb To evaluate; assess.
- intransitive verb To attempt; try.
- intransitive verb To be shown by analysis to contain a certain proportion of usually precious metal.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Examination; trial; attempt; essay.
- noun Hence Trial by danger; risk; adventure.
- noun Trial; tribulation; affiiction.
- noun The trial of the purity, weight, etc., of metals or metallic substances, as ores and alloys; any operation or experiment for ascertaining the quantity of a precious metal in an ore or a mineral, or in coin or bullion. See
assaying . - noun The substance to be assayed. Ure.
- noun In law, an examination of weights and measures by the standard. Cowell.
- noun Formerly, the act or custom of tasting the food or drink intended for another, as a king, before presenting it.
- noun Value; ascertained purity: as, “stones of rich assay,”
- To examine by trial; put to test or trial; try the effect or merit of: as, to
assay armor. - Specifically To make trial of or analyze, as an ore or metallic compound, with the view of determining the proportion of a particular metal present in it.
- To attempt; endeavor; essay: often with an infinitive as object.
- To endeavor to influence.
- To affect; move.
- To make an attempt or endeavor; try.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun obsolete Trial; attempt; essay.
- noun obsolete Examination and determination; test.
- noun obsolete Trial by danger or by affliction; adventure; risk; hardship; state of being tried.
- noun obsolete Tested purity or value.
- noun (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.
- noun The alloy or metal to be assayed.
- noun an officer who assays or tests gold or silver coin or bullion.
- noun a weight of 29,1662/3 grams.
- transitive verb Obs. or Archaic To try; to attempt; to apply.
- transitive verb obsolete To affect.
- transitive verb obsolete To try tasting, as food or drink.
- transitive verb 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.
- intransitive verb Archaic. In this sense essay is now commonly used. To attempt, try, or endeavor.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
trial ,attempt ,essay . - noun the
qualitative orquantitative chemical analysis of something
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a substance that is undergoing an analysis of its components
- verb make an effort or attempt
- noun a written report of the results of an analysis of the composition of some substance
- verb analyze (chemical substances)
- noun 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.
- noun an appraisal of the state of affairs
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I. ii.18 (375,1) By no assay of reason] Bring it to the _test_, examine it by reason as we examine metals by the _assay_, it will be found counterfeit by all trials.
Notes to Shakespeare, Volume III: The Tragedies Samuel Johnson 1746
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The next writer whose work I've decided to assay is Stanislaw Lem.
Genre Fiction 2010
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The flow cytometry based DHR assay is used to evaluate the oxidative metabolism of phagocytes.
Immunology Lab 2010
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The seven participants tested so far breathe for ten minutes into a commercially available handheld device, which cools the air, forming a condensed vapor, to which the methylation assay is applied.
Boing Boing: December 3, 2006 - December 9, 2006 Archives 2006
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Essayer is the French verb meaning "to try" (the cousin of our word assay), and an "essai" is an effort.
A Version 1.0 2004
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The aim of this study was to assess if the use of a longer term assay and the analysis of multiple cytokines would enhance diagnosis of active TB in a TB-endemic population.
PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Jayne S. Sutherland et al. 2010
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The word assay has appeared in two New York Times articles in the past year, including on Dec. 14, 2009, in Flies Get Tipsy and Aid the
NYT > Home Page By THE LEARNING NETWORK 2010
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The aim of this study was to assess if the use of a longer term assay and the analysis of multiple cytokines would enhance diagnosis of active TB in a
PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Jayne S. Sutherland et al. 2010
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Thrice he the sword assay'd, and thrice the flood;
The Aeneid English 70 BC-19 BC Virgil
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Thrice he the sword assayd, and thrice the flood;
The Tenth Book of the Aeneis Vergil 1909
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