Assay word meaning and definition

[noun] an appraisal of the state of affairs; "they made an assay of the contents"; "a check on its dependability under stress"
[verb] analyze (chemical substances)
[verb] 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"

\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.
\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.

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