Part 397

As*sault"er (&?;), n. One who assaults, or violently attacks; an assailant. E. Hall.

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.

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.

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 29,166 grams.

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.

As*say", v. i. To attempt, try, or endeavor. [Archaic. In this sense essay is now commonly used.]

She thrice assayed to speak. Dryden.

As*say"a*ble (&?;), a. That may be assayed.

As*say"er, n. One who assays. Specifically: One who examines metallic ores or compounds, for the purpose of determining the amount of any particular metal in the same, especially of gold or silver.

As*say"ing, n. The act or process of testing, esp. of analyzing or examining metals and ores, to determine the proportion of pure metal.

||Asse (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) A small foxlike animal (Vulpes cama) of South Africa, valued for its fur.

As`se*cu*ra"tion (&?;), n. [LL. assecuratio, fr. assecurare.] Assurance; certainty. [Obs.]