Word of the Day Archive
Tuesday July 12, 2011
assay \a-SEY\
, verb:
1. To examine or analyze.
2. In metallurgy, to analyze (an ore, alloy, etc.) in order to determine the quantity of gold, silver, or other metal in it.
3. To attempt; try.
The basic information will come from computers, but men, not machines, will assay its meaning before airing it.
-- "TV gets ready for the election," Kiplinger's Personal Finance, April 1968
He sat down on one of the park benches to assay his release, to scan the landscape of his dishonorable freedom.
-- Henry Roth, Diving Rock on the Hudson
Assay stems from Middle French, a variation on essay.
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for assay
