Assay — Defs

01 n. Trial; attempt; essay.

1.
Trial; attempt; essay.[Obs.]
“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.
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.(Metallurgy)
6.
The alloy or metal to be assayed.

Phrases & compounds

Assay master — an officer who assays or tests gold or silver coin or bullion.

Assay ton — a weight of 29,166<frac:2_3/ grams.

Syn.

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.

02 v. t. To try; to attempt; to apply.

imp. & p. p. Assayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Assaying

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.

03 v. i. To attempt, try, or endeavor.

1.
To attempt, try, or endeavor.[Archaic. In this sense essay is now commonly used.]
“She thrice assayed to speak.” — Dryden.