assassinate 
assassinatet (a-sas'i-nat), n. [< F. assrtsxiiutt, 
assassination, '< ML. assassinattts, < assassinare : 
see assassinate, v.} 1. Assassination; murder- 
ous assault. 
If I hail made an assassinate upon your father. 
B. Jonxon, Epicene, ii. 1. 
2. An assassin. 
Seize him for one of the assassinates. Dryden. 
assassination (a-sas-i-na'shon), w. [< assassi- 
nate + -ion.} The act of assassinating; the 
act, especially of a hired emissary, of killing or 
murdering by surprise or secret assault; mur- 
der by treacherous violence. 
assassinative (a-sas'i-na-tiv), . [< assaminatc 
+ -ire.} Inclined to assassinate. Carlylc. 
assassinator (a-sas'i-na-tor), n. 1. An assas- 
sin. 2. In canon lam, one who hires another 
to kill a third person by surprise or secret as- 
sault. He loses the right of sanctuary and all other ec- 
clesiastical immunity, and is subjected to excommunica- 
tion, and, by the letter of the law, to confiscation of goods 
or even to deprivation of personal rights, including that 
of security of life : these penalties could be imposed even 
when the attempted assassination fell short of its effect. 
The law was first made against those employing infidels to 
murder Christians, but almost immediately and a fortiori 
extended to Christians as against any person, whether 
Christian or not, who was allowed to live in the state. 
The peculiar malice of the crime was placed in its being 
secret murder for hire. Technically it was unknown to 
the civil law. 
assassinoust (a-sas'i-nus), a. [< assassin + 
-ous.} Murderous; treacherous. 
To smother them in the basest and most assassinous 
manner. Milton, On Ormond's Letter, 561 (Ord MS.). 
assationt (a-sa'shon), n. [< F. assation, < ML. 
'assatio(n-), < LL. "assare, roast, < L. assus, roast- 
ed, perhaps for arsus, pp. of ardere, burn, be on 
fire.] A roasting. 
Assation is a concoction of the inward moisture by heat. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel. 
assault (a-salf), n. [The I has been restored, 
as in fault, vault, etc. ; < ME. assaut, asaut, 
asaute (also by apheresis saut, later sault), OF. 
assaut, assalt, asalt, F. assaut = Pr. assaut = 
Sp. asalto = Pg. It. assalto, < ML. assaltus, as- 
sault, attack, < assalire, assail: see assail.} 1. 
An attack or violent onset with physical means ; 
an onslaught; especially, a sudden and vigor- 
ous attack on a fortified post. 
Able to resist 
Satan's assaults, and quench his fiery darts. 
Milton, P. L., xii. 492. 
In military art . . . more is oftentimes effected by regu- 
lar approaches than by an open assault. 
Washington, in Bancroft's Hist. Const., I. 454. 
Specifically 2. In law, an unlawful attack 
upon the person of another ; an attempt or offer 
to dp violence to another, coupled with present 
ability to effect it, but irrespective of whether 
the person is touched or not, as by lifting the 
fist or a cane in a threatening manner, if the 
person is struck, the act is called assault and battery. In 
Scotland this distinction is not regarded. Assaults are 
variously punished. 
3. An attack with other than physical force, 
as by means of legislative measures, by argu- 
ments, invective, appeals, etc. : as, an assault 
upon the constitution of government; an as- 
sault upon one's reputation. 
I would have thought her spirit had been invincible 
against all assaults of affection. Shak., Much Ado, ii. 3. 
Assault Of or at arms, the attack made upon each other 
by the opposite parties in fencing or in military exercises. 
= Syn. Charge, Onslaught, etc. See onset 
assault (a-salf), v. t. [< late ME. assaute, 
asaute (arid by apheresis saute, later sault), < OF. 
asauter, later assaulter = Sp. asaltar = Pg. as- 
saltar = It. assaltare, < ML. assaltare, < L. ad, 
to, upon, + saltare, leap: see the noun.] 1. To 
attack by physical means ; fall upon with vio- 
lence or with a hostile intention : as, to assault 
a man, a house, a town. 
Look in upon me then, and speak with me, 
Or, naked as I am, I will assault thee. 
Shak., Othello, v. 2. 
Specifically 2. In laic, to attempt or offer to 
do violence to another, with present ability to 
accomplish it. See assault, n., 2. 3. To attack 
with other than physical force ; assail with argu- 
ments, complaints, hostile words, etc. 
The cries of babes new-born . . . 
Assault his ears. Dryden. 
= Syn. Attack, Set upon, etc. (see assail); to storm. See 
attack. 
assaultable (a-sal'ta-bl), a. [Early mod. E. 
assautable; < 'assault + -able.} Capable of be- 
ing assaulted. 
344 
assaultant (a-sal'taut), a. [< OF. assaitltant, 
ppr. of ctssautter: see assault, and cf. assailant.} 
Same as assailant, 1. 
assaulter (a-sal'ter), . One who assaults or 
violently attacks ; an assailant. 
assautt, n. Older spelling of assault. 
assay (a-sa'), . [< ME. assay, assai, asaye, 
asaie (and by apheresis say), < OF. assai, assay = 
Pr. assai, assag = Cat. assatg = Sp. asayo = It. as- 
saggio, "<ii/</io ; also, with variation of the same 
prefix, OF. cssai (> E. essay, q. v.) = Pr. essai = 
Cat. ensatg = Sp. ensayo = Pg. ensaio (ML. reflex 
assagium, assaia, essagium, essai/nm), < LL. ex- 
agium, a weighing (cf. examen (for *exagmen), 
a weighing, examination), < *exagere, exigere, 
weigh, try, prove, measure, examine : see ex- 
amen, examine, and exigent, and cf. the doublet 
essay. For the prefix, see a*- 3 , e*- 1 , ex-.} It. 
Examination ; trial ; attempt ; essay. 
Neither is it enough to have taken a slender taste or 
(txxay thereof. Udall, Pref. to Luke. 
This cannot be, 
By no assay of reason. Shak., Othello, i. 3. 
He hath made an assay of her virtue. 
Shak., M. for II., iii. 1. 
Hence 2t. Trial by danger; risk; adventure. 
Through many hard assayes which did betide. 
Spenser, F. Q., II. i. 35. 
3t. Trial; tribulation; affliction. 
She heard with patience all unto the end, 
And strove to maister sorrowfull assay. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. vii. 27. 
assemblation 
Specifically 3. An officer of the mint, whose 
duty is to test bullion and coin. 
assay-furnace (a-sa'fer"nas), n. A simple form 
of furnace and muffle for heating metals in 
cupels. 
assaying (a-sa'ing), . The act or art of test- 
ing metals, ores, or alloys in order to ascertain 
the quantity of gold or silver or any other 
metal present in them. There are two modes of as- 
saying, one of which is sometimes employed to corroborate 
the other. The one is called the humid or wet process, in 
which the solution of the metals is effected by means of 
acids, after which those sought for are precipitated by 
proper reagents. The other is called the dry process, and 
is performed by the agency of fire. The first is generally 
employed for the purpose of estimating the quantity of gold 
or silver in an alloy, and the second is chiefly applied to 
ores. Tests are also made by comparison of -specific grav- 
ities, and by the color of the streak or trace made by rub- 
bing the ore upon a rough surface. In Great Britain each 
article of silver or gold plate is assayed at Goldsmiths' Hall 
previously to being sold, in order to determine the exact 
richness of the metal of which it is made. See hall-mark. 
assay-master (a-sa'mas"ter), M. 1. An as- 
sayer ; a chief officer appointed to try the weight 
and fineness of the precious metals. 2. An 
officer appointed, in the provincial period in 
Massachusetts, to test the quality of potash and 
pearlash intended for export, or the composition 
of the worms and still-heads used in distilling. 
asse 1 t, ii. Obsolete spelling of ass 1 . 
asse 2 (as), . A name of the caama, a small 
African fox, Vulpes caama. 
assealt, ". t. [< ME. asselen. aselen, var. of eii- 
selen: see enseal.} Same as enseal. 
is'er), n. An old name for the 
ore or a mineral, or in coin or bullion See as- 
-5. The substance tc .be assayed . Ure.- 
' 
, ow 
- ' 
it. 8t. Value; ascertained purity: as, "stones 
r,f nl <,,, n , ... 1? n TV \. i * 
of rich assay,' Denser, F. Q., IV. x. 15.-Annual 
assay, an annual official trial of gold and silver coin 
to ascertain whether the standard of fineness and weight 
of coinage is maintained. At all assayst. (a) At every 
trial or in every juncture; always. (6) At all hazards; 
ready for every event. Cup of assay, the small cup with 
which the assay of wine, etc., was made. (See 7.) Put It 
In assay 1 , make the trial or experiment, =Syn. 4. Assay, 
Analysis. Assay is the analysis of metals, and is thus'a 
word of narrower signification than analysis (which see). 
assay (a-sa'), v. [< ME. assay en asayen, asaien 
(later also .by apheresis saye, say), <OF. assayer. 
asaier = Pr. assatar, assatjar = Sp. asayar = 
It. astaggmre ; also, with variation of the same 
prefix, OF. essayer (> E. essay, q. v.) = Pr. 
essawr, ensatar = Cat. ensajar = Sp. ensayar= 
Pg. ensatar; from the >noun.] I trans. 1. To 
examine by trial ; put to test or trial ; try the 
8> ^ arm r ' C 
Soft words to his fierce passion she assay'd. 
Milton, f. L., x. 865. 
Here, too, our shepherd-pipes we first assay'd. 
M. Arnold, Thyrsis. 
Specifically 2. 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. 3. To attempt; endeavor; 
essay : often with an infinitive as object. 
The 28th day of October the walls were made low and 
the town assaultable. Hall, Henry VIII., an. 15. 
Is the breach made assaultable ? 
Massinger, Maid of Honour, ii. 3. 
The first part I have told you in the three sermons past, 
in which I have assayed to set forth my plough, to prove 
what I could do. Latimer, Sermon of the Plough. 
She hath assay'd as much as may be proved. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 608. 
[Hen. VIII.] effected no more than what his own prede- 
cessors desired and assayed in ages past. 
Sir T. Broicne, Religio Medici, i. 5. 
8n this sense essay is now commonly used.] 
. To endeavor to influence. 
Implore her in my voice, that she make friends 
To the strict deputy ; bid herself assay him. 
Shak., M. for II., i. 3. 
5t. To affect ; move. 
When the hart is ill assayde. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal., August. 
II. intrans. To make an attempt or endeavor; 
try. [Now more commonly essay. ~\ 
assayable (a-sa'a-bl), a. [< assay + -able.} 
Capable of being assayed or tested. 
assay-balance (a-sa'bal"ans), n. A very ac- 
curate balance used by assayers. 
assayer (a-sa'er), . [< ME. assayer, assaior, 
assaiour, < AF. assaior, assaiour : see assay and 
-eri.] It. One who tries, tests, or attempts. 
2. One who assays metals ; one who examines 
metallic ores or alloys for the purpose of de- 
termining the quantity of any particular metal, 
particularly of gold or silver, present in them. 
Those assecurances which they give in the Popish 
Church. Sheldon, Miracles, p. 320. 
assecurationt (as"e-ku-ra'shon), . [< ML. 
assecuratio(n-), < assecurare, pp. asseciiratus, as- 
sure: see assccure.} Assurance; a making se- 
cure or sure. 
How far then reaches this amecuration ! so far as to ex- 
clude all fears, all doubting? Bp. Hall, Sermons, xliii. 
assecuret (as-e-kur'), v. t. [< ML. assecurare, 
assume, { L. ad, to, 4- secitrus, secure, sure. 
Doublet, assure, q. v.] To make secure ; make 
sure or certain. 
Sin is not helped but by being ansecured of pardon. 
Hooker, Eccles. Pol., vi. 6. 
assecutiont (as-e-ku'shon), . [< L. as if *asse- 
cutio(n-), < assecutus, pp. of assequi, follow up, 
reach, obtain, < ad, to, -r- sequi, follow : see se- 
quent.} An obtaining or acquiring. 
His first [benefice] . . . is immediately void by his asse- 
cutian of a second. Ayli/e, Parergon, p. 115. 
assegai, n. and r. See assagai. 
asseget, *'. and n. See assiege. 
asseizet, i 1 . t. To seize. Marlowe. [Rare.] 
asself (a-self), f. t. [< s-i + self.} I. To take 
to one's self; appropriate; adopt. 2. To as- 
similate: as, to asself aliment. [Rare in both 
uses.] 
assemblage (a-sem'blaj), . [< F. assemblage, < 
assembler, assemble: see assemble 1 and -age.} 
1. The act of assembling or the state of being 
assembled; association. 
In sweet assemblage every blooming grace. Fenton. 
2. A collection of individuals or of particular 
things : as, an assemblage of noted men ; an as- 
semblage of various materials. 3. The act of 
fitting together, as parts of a machine; in carp. 
and joinery, a union of parts or pieces by fram- 
ing, dovetailing, etc. See assembling. 
The exterior plank [f. e., planking] of our large wooden 
war ships was divided into a number of distinct assem- 
blages, each having a special designation. 
Thearle, Naval Arch., 212. 
assemblance ' t (a-sem'blans), . [< OF. assem- 
blance = It. assembranza : see assemble 1 and 
-ance.} An assemblage ; an assembly. 
To weete the cause of their assemblaunce wide. 
Spenser, F. Q., V. iv. 21. 
assemblance-t (a-sem'blans), n. [< OF. as- 
semblance (Roquefort), ("assembler, resemble: 
see assemble 2 and -ance.} Representation ; like- 
ness ; semblance. 
Care I for the . . . big assemblance of a man ? Give me 
the spirit. Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iii. 2. 
assemblationt, . A gathering; a meeting. 
Roger North, Examen. [Rare.] 
