assert 
3. To state as true ; affirm ; asseverate ; aver ; 
declare. 
There is no proof of what is so commonly asserted, that 
the heel is longer in proportion to the foot in Negroes. 
Huxley, Anat. Vert., p. 419. 
To assert one's self, to assume and defend one's rights, 
claims, or authority ; exert one's influence ; sometimes, to 
thrust one's self forward unduly or obtrusively. 
The natural strength and thinness of his nature began 
to assert ittttf. George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, iii. 2. 
While the struggle between the Emperor and the Pope 
absorbed the strength of both, it became possible for the 
people to assert tht'iit*t'l?''s. 
J{. Spencer, Priu. of Sociol., 498. 
= Syn 2. Assert, Defend, Maintain, Vindicate. Assert 
supports a cause or claim aggressively : its meaning is well 
brought out in the expression, assert yourself; that is, 
make your influence felt. To defend is primarily to drive 
back assaults. To maintain is to hold up to the full 
amount, defending from diminution : as, to maintain the 
ancient customs, liberties, rights. To vindicate is to res- 
cue, as from diminution, dishonor, or censure: as, to "vin- 
dicate the ways of God to man," Pope, Essay on Man, i. 16. 
And as my vassals, to their utmost might, 
Assist my person, and assert my right. 
Dryden, Pal. and Arc., 1. 1,000. 
It is time now to draw homeward ; and to think rather 
of defending myself, than assaulting others. 
Dryden, Pref. to Mock Astrologer. 
I will maintain 
My truth and honour flrmly. Shak., Lear, v. 3. 
If it should at any time so happen that these rights 
should be invaded, there is no remedy but a reliance on 
the courts to protect and vindicate them. 
D. Webster, Convention to Revise the Const., 1821. 
3. Assert, Affirm, Declare, Acer, Asseverate (see declare), 
allege, protest, avow, lay down. (See protest.) Assert 
seems to expect doubt or contradiction of what one 
says. Affirm strengthens a statement by resting it upon 
one's reputation for knowledge or veracity: as, "she [Rho- 
da] constantly affirmed that it was even so," Acts xii. 15. 
Declare makes public, clear, or emphatic, especially against 
contradiction. Aver is positive and peremptory. Assev- 
erate is positive and solemn. 
We can assert without assenting. 
J. H. Newman, Gram, of Assent, p. 11. 
It is a pure impertinence to affirm with oracular assur- 
ance what might perhaps be admissible as a suggestion 
offeied with the due diffidence of modest and genuine 
scholarship. Svnnburne, Shakespeare, p. 23. 
Our Hebrew songs and harps, in Babylon 
That pleased so well oun victors' ear, declare 
That rather Greece from us these arts derived. 
Milton, P. R., iv. 337. 
Then all averred I had killed the bird 
That brought the fog and mist. 
Coleridge, Ancient Mariner, ii. 
It is impossible to calculate the good that such a work 
would have done if half which is asseverated had only been 
proved. J. J. Blunt. 
assertable (a-ser'ta-bl), a. [< assert + -able."] 
Capable of being asserted or maintained. Also 
assertible. 
assertationt (as-er-ta'shon), . [<ML. asserta- 
tio(n-), < assertare, pp. assertatus, assert: see 
assert."] An assertion. Kir T. More. 
assertative (a-ser'ta-tiv), a. [< assert + -ative.] 
Assertive. 
asserter (a-ser'ter), n. 1. One who asserts or 
maintains ; a champion or vindicator. 
Harmodius and Aristogitou had assassinated Hippar- 
chus from mere private revenge ; but they were now called 
asserters of public liberty. J. Adams, Works, IV. 488. 
2. One who asserts or declares ; one who makes 
a positive declaration. 
Also assertor. 
assertible, . [< assert + -ible."] See assertable. 
assertion (a-ser'shpn), n. [< L. assertio(n-), 
declaration, < asserere, assert: see assert.] If. 
The act of setting free; liberation. 2. The 
action of maintaining a cause or a claim: as, 
the assertion of one's rights. 3. The act of 
stating something to be true. 
Assertion unsupported by fact is nugatory. Junius. 
4. A positive declaration or averment ; an un- 
supported statement or affirmation : as, his as- 
sertion proved to be false. 
An assertion is as distinct from a conclusion as a word 
of command is from a persuasion or recommendation. 
J. H. Newman, Gram, of Assent, p. 3. 
The capacity of jelly [protoplasm] to guide forces, which 
Professor Huxley says is a fact of the profoundest signifi- 
cance to him, is not a fact at all, but merely an assertion. 
Beale, Protoplasm, p. 85. 
= Syn. 2. Vindication, defense, maintenance. 3 and 4. 
Statement, asseveration, protestation. 
assertional (a-ser'shon-al), a, [< assertion + 
-al.~\ Pertaining to or of the nature of an as- 
sertion; containing an assertion. [Rare.] 
assertive (a-ser'tiv), a. [< ML. "assertimts (im- 
plied in adv. assertive), < L. assertus, pp. of 
asserere: see assert and -ive."] Positive; dog- 
matic; affirming confidently; peremptory; af- 
firmative. 
Proposing them not in a confident and assertive form, 
but as probabilities and hypotheses. Qlamntte. 
346 
assertively (a-ser'tiv-li), adv. In an assertive 
manner; affirmatively. 
assertiveness (a-ser'tiv-nes), . The quality 
of being assertive, or self-assertive. 
As for this assertiveness, one should admire it ; it tends 
to the virtue of contentment. 
W. Shepherd, Prairie Experiences, p. 114. 
assertor (a-ser'tor), n. [< L. assertor, declarer, 
advocate, defender, < asserere : see assert.'} 
See asserter. 
assertorial (as-er-to'ri-al), a. [< LL. asserto- 
rius (see assertory) + -a).] Asserting a fact as 
true, but not holding it to be necessary. See 
assertory, the common form. 
assertorially (as-er-to'ri-al-i), adv. In an as- 
sertorial manner; as an assertion. 
assertoric, assertorical (as-er-tor'ik, -i-kal), . 
[< assertor + -ic, -ic-al.] Asserting; assertory; 
assertive : as, an assertoric judgment. See as- 
sertory. 
assertory (a-ser'to-ri), a. [< LL. assertorius, < 
L. dusertor": see assertor. .] Affirming; main- 
taining ; declaratory ; affirmative ; assertive. 
We have not here to do with a promissory oath : ... it 
is the assertory oath that is now under our hand. 
Bp. Hall, Cases of Conscience, ii. 5. 
An Assertory Oath is made to a Man before God, and I 
must swear so, as man may know what I mean. 
Selden, Table-Talk, p. 77. 
Assertory proposition, in logic, a proposition stating 
something to be true, but not stating it as necessary. 
assertress (a-ser'tres), n. [< asserter + -ess.] 
A female who asserts. 
asservet (a-serv'), v. t. [< L. asservire, serve, 
aid, < ad, to, + servire, serve: see serve."] To 
help; serve; second. Bailey. 
asservilet (a-ser'vil), v. t. [< as- 1 + servile.] 
To render servile or obsequious. 
II] am weary otasserviUmj myself to every man's charity. 
Bacon, v. 240 (Ord M.S.). 
asses, n. Plural of as^ and of as* 1 . 
assess (a-ses'), v. t. [< late ME. assesse, also ac- 
cesse (whence by apheresis sess, cess), s OF. as- 
sesser, < ML. assessare, fix a rate, impose a tax, 
freq. of L. assidere, pp. assessus, sit beside, be 
assessor to a judge, in ML. fix a rate, impose a 
tax, assess (cf. assessor), < L. ad, to, + sedere, sit, 
= E. sit. Cf. assize.] 1. To set, fix, or charge a 
certain sum upon, by way of tax : as, to assess 
each individual in due proportion. 
His method of raising supplies was to order some rich 
courtier to pay a sum, and then sell this order to some 
speculator with the power of torturing the person assessed. 
Brougham. 
2. To estimate the value or amount of (prop- 
erty or income) as a basis for taxation. 3. To 
set, fix, or determine : as, it is the province of 
a jury to assess damages. 
assesst (a-ses'), n. [< assess, v.] Assessment. 
assessable (a-ses'a-bl), a. [< assess + -able.] 
Capable of being assessed; liable to assess- 
ment. 
assessably (a-ses'a-bli), adv. By assessment. 
assession (a-sesh'iju), n. [< L. assessio(n-), a 
sitting by or near, < assidere, sit by or near: 
see assess, v.] A sitting beside or together ; a 
session. [Rare.] 
assessionary (a-sesh'on-a-ri), a. [< assession 
+ -ary.] Of or pertaining to an assession or to 
assessors: as, "at the assessionanj court," H. 
Carew, Survey of Cornwall. [Rare.] 
assessment (a-ses'ment), n. [< ML. assessa- 
mentum, < assessare, assess : see assess and -men t. 
Also by apheresis sessment.] 1. The act of as- 
sessing, determining, or adjusting the amount 
of taxation, charge, damages, etc., to be paid 
by an individual, a company, or a community. 
2. The amount so determined; the tax or 
specific sum charged upon a person or prop- 
erty: as, an assessment upon stockholders to 
pay corporate debts. 3. An official valuation 
of property, profits, or income, for purposes of 
taxation. 4. The value thus ascertained or 
assigned Commissioners of estimate and assess- 
ment. See commissioner. Political assessments, in 
the United States, contributions of money levied by po- 
litical committees upon the office-holders and candidates 
belonging to their respective parties, in order to defray 
the expenses of a political canvass. Union Assessment 
Acts, English statutes of 1862 (25 and 26 Viet. c. 103), 
1864 (27 and 28 Viet. c. 39), and 1880 (43 and 44 Viet. c. 7), 
which relate to the poor-rates and secure a uniform valua- 
tion of parishes in England. = Syn. Impost, Bates, etc. 
See tax. 
assessor (a-ses'or), n. [Early mod. E. also as- 
sessour, < ME. assessour, < OF. assessour, mod. 
F. assesseur = Pr. assessor = Sp. asesor = Pg. as- 
sessor = It. assessore, < L. assessor, an assis- 
tant judge, in ML. also an assessor of taxes, lit. 
one who sits by another, < assidere, sit by : see 
assident, assess.] 1. One who sits by another; 
asseveration 
hence, one who shares another's position, rank, 
or dignity ; an associate in office. 
Don Quixote, . . . or his assessors, the curate and the 
barber. '/'. Warton, Hist, of Eng. Poetry, I. 336. 
2. An inferior officer of justice, who sits to as- 
sist a judge as a law authority ; in Scotland, 
the legal adviser of a magistrate, with judicial 
powers. 
Minos the strict inquisitor appears, 
And lives and crimes with his assessors bears. 
Dryden, JSneid, vi. 
3. In England, a person chosen to assist the 
mayor and aldermen of a borough in matters 
concerning elections. 4. In some universi- 
ties, as the Scotch, the title of the elected mem- 
bers of the university court or supreme govern- 
ing body of the university. 5. One appointed 
to make assessments, especially for purposes 
of taxation Assessor of the vice-chancellor, in 
English universities, a deputy of the vice-chancellor ap- 
pointed by him to hear causes and to be his vicegerent in 
court. Nautical assessors. See nautical. 
assessorial (as-e-so'ri-al), a. [< assessor + -ial.] 
Pertaining to an assessor, or to a court of as- 
sessors. 
assessorship (a-ses'or-ship), n. [< assessor + 
-sitiji.] The office of assessor. 
Be this as it may, his progress from the passive Auscul- 
tatorship towards any active Assessorship is evidently of 
the slowest. Carlyle, Sartor Resartus, p. 88. 
asset (as'et), . See assets. 
assetht, " [ME., also aseth, aseeth, asethe, as- 
settte, assctz, etc. (= Sc. assyth), < OF. asset, aset, 
asez, assez, in the phrase fere aset, aset fere (< L. 
(ad) satis facere), make amends, lit. do enough : 
see asset, assets, the same word, of later and dif- 
ferent use in E.] Satisfaction ; amends. 
We may noghte be assoylede of the trespase bot if make 
assetke in that that we may. 
Religious Pieces (ed. Percy), p. 6. 
Yit never shal make his richesse 
Asseth unto his greedynesse. 
Kim. of the Rose, 1. 5600. 
assets (as'ets), n. pi., orig. sing. [< AF. assetz, 
aset: (OF. assez, asez, asset, aset, mod. F. assez 
= Pr. assatz = OSp. asaz = Pg. assaz, assas = 
It. assai), enough, in the law phrase aver assetz, 
have enough, taken into E. as ' have assets ' ; 
< ML. ad satis, lit. up to enough, equiv. to L. 
satis, enough : see satisfy.] 1 . In law : (a) Suffi- 
cient estate ; property sufficient in the hands of 
an executor or heir to pay the debts or legacies 
of the testator or ancestor to satisfy claims 
against it. (6) Any goods or property or right 
of action properly available for the payment of 
a bankrupt's or a deceased person's obligations 
or debts: generally used to signify resources 
for the payment of debts, etc. Assets are real or 
personal. Real assets are lands such as descend to the 
heir, subject to the fulfilment of the obligations of the 
ancestor ; personal assets are the money or goods of the 
deceased or insolvent, or debts due to him, which come 
into the hands of the executor or administrator, or which 
he is to collect or convert into money. 
2. Property in general ; all that one owns, con- 
sidered as applicable to the payment of his 
debts : as, his assets are much greater than his 
liabilities. 3. [As a singular, asset.] Any 
portion of one's property or effects so con- 
sidered: as, these shares are a valuable asset. 
Equitable assets. See equitable. Marshaling as- 
sets. See marshal, v. 
assevert (a-sev'er), v. t. [< L. asseverare, as- 
sert strongly, speak in earnest, < ad, to, + 
severus, earnest, serious, severe: see severe.] 
To asseverate. 
Anselmns . . . not only assevereth it, but also endea- 
voureth ... to set out the true . . . proportion of it. 
Fotherby, Atheomastix, p. 317. 
asseverate (a-sev'er-at), v. t. ; pret. and pp. as- 
severated, ppr. asseverating. [< L. asseveratus, 
pp. of asseverare: see assever.] To affirm or 
aver positively, or with solemnity. 
Charity nigh chokes 
Ere swallow what they both asseverate; 
Though down the gullet faith may feel it go. 
Browning, Ring and Book, I. 85. 
= Syn. Assert, Affirm, Declare, etc. (see assert); to say, 
allege, protest, insist, maintain. 
asseveration (a-sev-e-ra'shon), n. [< L. asse- 
veratio(n-), an earnest declaration, < asseverare, 
pp. asseveratus, assever: see assever.] 1. The 
act of asseverating ; positive affirmation or as- 
sertion ; solemn declaration. 
"My God ! " cried the monk, with a warmth of assevera- 
tion which seemed not to belong to him. 
Sterne, Sentimental Journey, p. 21. 
2. That which is asseverated; an emphatic 
assertion. 
He [Leeds] denied with the most solemn asseverations 
that he had taken any money for himself. 
Miii-niiluii. Hist. Eng., xxi. 
