assistant 
assistant (a-sis'tant), . aiid M. [Early mod. 
K. mid MIC'.' attistmi, later, after F., assistant, 
= Sp. uxiftli'iitc = Pg. It. iixxinli'iili; < L. IIKKIK- 
lin(t-).i. |)pr. (if nxxixli !< : see assist and-il, 
-'/.] I. . If. Standing by; present; accom- 
panying. 
Christ hath |ir ised in Imth sacraments tn lie nxxixtrui 
with US. I'l-'iniil'-i', Sacrament, p. 4">. {.V. /-.'. />. I 
No prophaile tiling ought t'l have MOOIM. Nothing t'l lie 
Hsxixiinit imt sage and ('hristianiv Admonition, brotherly 
Love, naming Charity, and /cale. Miltun, Ret. In Eng., ii. 
2. Present to help ; helpful ; aiding or fitted to 
aid and support; auxiliary: with fo. 
Mlltllilllv and grcath iis-ixlinil In each other. 
llntttii; Munii Science, i. 1. 
Assistant engine, :i steam or hydraulic motor lined to 
control tint rcvcrsing-gcar "I a marine engine, or M turn 
tlic shaft when tin; iiiiiin engine is ill rest. See tngiau, 
Assistant form. Sec /.../. 
II. . It. <>no who stands by ; a bystander; 
one who takes part in anything: usually in tin- 
plural. 
Tin- growing circumference was observed with astonish- 
ment Ity the <r.sW.vM///\. tiilili'ui. Decline and Kail, II. 11. 
2. One who stands by to help ; one who helps ; 
a helper; an auxiliary; specifically, one who is 
associated with another as an auxiliary in car- 
rying on some systematic work or undertaking, 
or in discharging the duties of an office: MS, 
the harbor-master and his asxixtants; a book- 
keeper's HSNixtinit. 3. An official auxiliary to 
the father-general of the Jesuits. Erroneous- 
ly called adjutant-fiewral. 4f. [Sp. nxixlrnii-. \ 
The chief officer of justice at Seville. 
The a**ixlant sits to-morrow. 
Fletcher (and another), Spanish Curate, iii. 1. 
5. In the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth col- 
onies, one of the elected councilors who consti- 
tuted the governor's council and the upper house 
of the legislature. The number of assistants in 
the former was eighteen ; in the latter, origi- 
nally five, later seven. 6. In dyeiny, a sub- 
stance, such as tartaric acid, acetate of lime, 
or sulphate of soda, added to the dye-bath, to 
effect a brightening of the color.- Court of As- 
sistants. See ronrt. 
assistantlyt (a-sis'tant-li), mlr. In a manner 
to give aid. Xtci'iiltotd. 
assistantsbip (a-sis'tant-ship), ii. The office 
or position of assistant. 
assistencyt (a-sis'ten-si), n. Helpfulness ; as- 
sistance. 
assister (a-sis'ter), . 1. One who stands by ; 
one who takes part in anything, as a public 
ceremony or assembly. [Archaic.] 2. An as- 
sistant. 
Also spelled assistor. 
assistless (a-sist'les), it. [< assist + -lens. Cf . 
resistless.] Without aid or help; helpless. 
[Rare.] 
Stupid lie stares, and all ax*itttle*s stand*. 
Pope, Iliad, xvi. 970. 
assistor (a-sis'tdr), n. [< assist + -or.] Same 
as assister : used in legal documents. 
assize (a-siz'), H. [< ME. assize, tissise, ttsise, 
assys, also corruptly ncise, accisc (> mod. excise, 
q. v.), and by apheresis sine, syse (> mod. E. size, 
q. v.) ; < OF. assise, asise, a sitting, session, esp. 
of a court, judgment, appointment, settlement, 
assessment, impost, tax, etc., prop. fern, of 
ttsis, assis, pp. of aseir, later and mod. F. as- 
scoir, < L. assidere, sit by as assistant or assess- 
or, hence in ML. and OF., etc., appoint, settle, 
assess, etc.: see assident, assess.] If. Origi- 
nally, a sitting or session of a legislative body 
or court. 
Frequent assize* were held, and as of old, when the sword 
of justice was sharpened, the receipt* of the Treasury in- 
creased. Stubbs, Const. Hist, 682. 
Hence 2+. An edict, ordinance, or enactment 
made at such a session or sitting, or issued by 
such a body. Specifically, in Emi. hist. : (a) An ordi- 
nance fixing the weight, measure, and price of articles 
of general consumption sold in market : as. the assize 
cif measures in the reign of Henry II., and the assize of 
liread and ale (51 Hen. III.). Hence (6) The standard 
weights and measures appointed to he kept in any dis- 
trict : as, the custody of the assize, (e) In a more general 
sense, measurement ; dimensions ; a measure of rating. 
I saw a stately frame, 
An hundred cuhita high hy just assize. 
Spenser, Visions of Bellay, st. '2. 
3. A jury, or trial by jury: now used only in 
Scotland with reference to criminal causes. 
See grand assize, below. 4f. A name given to 
certain writs commanding juries to be sum- 
moned for the trial of causes : as, assize of novel 
disseizin, the ancient common-law remedy for 
the recovery of the possession of lands. 5f. 
The verdict of a jury in such a case. 6. The 
349 
periodical session held by royal commission by 
at least one of the judges of the superior courts 
directed to tako the assists or verdicts of a par- 
ticular jury (anciently called the assize), in each 
of the counties of Knglaud and Wales (with 
the exception of London and the parts adjoin- 
ing), for the purpose of trying issues nisi prius 
and jail-delivery for criminal cases : popularly 
called the asxizi-s. [This is the., nly sense in which the 
word is now used in law.! The commission by which as 
sizes are held is either general or special. A general com- 
mission is issued twiee a >e:ir 1" tile judges of the Ilitill 
Court of Justice, two judge* heing usually assigned to > a> h 
circuit. A special commission bgrantod to certain jnl^es 
to try certain causes and crimes. 
7. In a more general sense, any court or session 
of a court of justice. 8f. Situation; place. 
9. Judgment: as, the last or great assize (that 
is, the last judgment or last day). 
Sometimes spelled assise. 
Assize Of arms, the name under which reference is 
often made i< > several statutes or ordinances in early 
Kiij^lish history, reiMiiriiiK all freemen to provide, accord- 
ing to their estate and degree, arms tit enable them 1<> 
keep the peace and to serve in the Held, and also providing 
for aaai7.es or assessments hy juries of the equipment re 
quired of each pel-son. Specifically, an ordinance or stat- 
ute of 1181 (27 Hen. II.) for this purpose. 
In 1181, he IHenry II. I issued the Assize f Arm*, hy 
uhich lie directed the whole of the freemen of tile coun- 
try to provide themselves with armour according to their 
means, and the inquiry by oatli of leual jnrio t.i deter- 
mine the liability of each. Stubb*, Const. Hist., f 141!. 
Assize of Clarendon, an English ordinance issued in 
116 (12 Hen. II). which introduced changes into the ad- 
ministration of justice. - Assize of Northampton, an 
English ordinance, a reissue and expansion of the Assize 
of Clarendon, issued at Northampton in 1178(22 Hen. II.), 
drawn tip in the form of instructions to the judges. The 
new articles relate to tenure, reliefs, dower, etc. Assize 
of novel disseizin. See iiisseiziu.- Assizes Act, an 
English statute of 1880 (11 (Ico. IV. and 1 Win. IV. c. 70), 
affecting the constitution of the common-law courts in 
England and Wales and the practice in them. Assizes 
of Jerusalem, two codes of laws, drawn up under the 
authority of Godfrey de Bouillon, the first crusading 
king of Jerusalem, and in force under the Christian sov- 
ereignty in Jerusalem and in Cyprus. One code had 
jurisdiction over the nobility, the second over the com- 
mon people. Both were conceived with a wisdom and 
enlightenment beyond their age, and were based on 
contemporary French law and customs. Grand assize, 
formerly, in England, a form of trial in certain cases by a 
jury of sixteen persons, which took the place of trial by 
judicial combat. It was abolished in 1S.W. Maiden as- 
size. s.ee nut iii f n . Maritime Assizes of Jerusalem, a 
iiodv of maritime laws constituting a part of the Assizes 
of Jerusalem. Rents of assize, the established rente of 
the freeholders and ancient copy holders of a manor ; rent* 
which cannot lie changed. 
assizet (a-siz'), r. t.; pret. and pp. assized, ppr. 
i/ssiziny. [< ME. <tssisen, < AF. assiser, from the 
noun : see assize, .] If. In a general sense, 
to fix ; appoint. 
Thou shalt have day and time as*i#ett. 
Vincer, Conf. Amant. 
2f. To fix the rate of; assess, as taxes. 3. 
To fix the weight, measure, or price of, by an 
ordinance or authoritative regulation. 
The liberty of asitiziiitf bread has been used at Clyder- 
lioii and Rochdale as annexed and belonging t<i the mar- 
ket and fair. Quoted in Bain-en's Hist. Lancashire, II. 14. 
assizement (a-siz'meut), //. [< assize, r., + 
-went.] An inspection of weights and mea- 
sures, and of the quality of commodities, legal- 
ized by statute. 
assizer (a-si'zer), . [< ME. assismir (and bv 
apheresis sisour, > mod. E. sizar, q. v.), < AF\ 
assisoitr. < assiser: see assize, r., and -er*, -or.] 
1. In Eng. hist., a member of a grand assize 
(which see, under assize). 2. In Scotland, a 
juror. 3f. One who had custody of the assize 
or standards of weight and measure ; one who 
fixed the assize of bread and ale, or other arti- 
cles of general consumption. 
Also spelled assisor, assiser, assisor. 
assize-sermon (a-slz'ser'mon), n. In England, 
a sermon preached to the judges, barristers, 
and others attending the assizes. 
assizor, w. See assizer. 
assobert, *-' ' [< ME. assobren, < L. as- for ad- 
+ LL. sobriare, sober: see sober, v.] To keep 
or make sober. 
And thus I rede, thou asgobre 
Thync herte, in hope of such a grace. 
Oower, Conf. Amant.. vi. 
associability (a-so-shia-bil'i-ti), . [< associa- 
ble: see -bility.] 1. The quality of being asso- 
ciable. 
The atsociabilitif of feelings with those of their own 
kind, group within group, corresponds to the general ar- 
rangement of nervous structures into great divisions and 
sub-divisions. H. Spencer, Prin. of Paychol., $ 116. 
2. In pathol., the property of suffering changes 
by sympathy, or of being affected by the condi- 
tion of other parts of the body. 
associate 
associable (a-so'shia-bl), a. [= F. associable, < 
L. as if "aSSOCidbilif!, < iliuiiici<ii-r, iixsoriuti-: see 
associate.] 1. Capable of being joined or as- 
sociated; capable of forming part of a com- 
bination or association. 
Different classes of relations (feelings] were observe,! to 
lie revivable indifferent dcurcc.v which implies that, other 
thin^- equal, they are tmn>n-iat>li' in different <l> 
//. Nyemv/-, I'rin. of !'->( hoi., 117. 
2. Capable of being made an associate; com- 
panionable; social. 3. In /nitlm/., liable to lie 
affected sympathetically, or to receive from 
other parts like feelings and affections. 
associableness (a-so'shia-bl-nes), ii. Associii- 
liility. 
associate (a-so'shi-at), c. ; pret. and pp. .v.-/- 
uti-il, ppr. asNiiriatiiiii. [< L. nxmirinliix. pp. of 
asxorian; join to, unite with, < lid, to, + surinn . 
join, < socius, joined with, allied, following (as 
a noun, a companion): see social.] I. trans. 1. 
To join in company, as a friend, companion, 
partner, confederate, or the like ; join or connect 
intimately; unite; combine; link: followed by 
irilli (formerly sometimes by to): as, to asso- 
ciate others with us in business or in an enter- 
prise ; particles of earthy matter associated iri/li 
other substances. 
He succeeded in axMM-intiitii hi* name in^c]iiiralily iritli 
some names which will laat as long as our language. 
Mix-unlay. 
Just as the older female deities were n**i>i-iati->l in their 
w orship in'M heaven and the heavenly bodies, m'lh seasons 
of the year and iritfi sacred places, so is the more modern 
goddess (the Virgin Mary). 
Uamiin, Nature and the Bible, p. SIS. 
2t. To keep company with ; attend. 
Friends should assm-iate friends in grief and wue. 
Shale., Tit. And., v. 3. 
To-morrow I will attxueiate you to court myself. 
B. Juasun, Every Man out of his Humour, ii. 1. 
3. To make an associate of; admit to associa- 
tion or membership : with to : as, " he was asso- 
ciated to the Koyal Academy," Southey. [Rare.] 
Associated functions. See///rfum. 
II. intrans. 1. To have intercourse ; be an as- 
sociate or associates : implying intimacy: as, 
congenial minds are disposed to associate. 
It was once degradation intensified for a Norman to a**n- 
riatevrmi a Saxon. A T . A. Rer., CXXXIX. 85. 
2. To join in or form a confederacy or associa- 
tion. 
The clergy of a district in the diocese of Lincoln nn*i>- 
fiateti lately for the purpose of forming an estimate of the 
state of religion within their own limits. 
Sydiu-y Smith, in Lady Holland, iii. 
3. In general, to unite, as in action, with a 
person or thing, or to coexist in organic de- 
pendence, as the parts of the body. 
associate (a-s6'shi-at), . and n. [< L. assoria- 
tns, pp. : see the verb.] I. a. 1. Joined in in- 
terest, object or purpose, office or employment ; 
combined together; joined with another or 
others: as, an associate judge or professor; "my 
associate powers," Milton, P. L., x. 895. 2. iii 
pathol., connected by habit or sympathy: as, 
associate movements, that is, movements which 
occur sympathetically, in conseqxience of pre- 
ceding motions: thus, convergence of the eyes 
is associated with contraction of the pupils. 
II. . 1. A companion; one who is on terms 
of intimacy with another ; a mate ; a fellow. 
Sole Eve, axwciate sole, to me beyond 
Compare above all living creatures dear I 
Milton, P. L., U. 227. 
2. A partner in interest, as in business; a con- 
federate; an accomplice; an ally: as, "their 
defender and his associates," Hooker. 3. One 
who shares an office or a position of authority 
or responsibility ; a colleague or coadjutor. 
4. One who is admitted to a subordinate degree 
of membership in an association or institution : 
as, an Associate of the Royal Academy, or of the 
National Academy of Design. 5. Anything 
usually accompanying or associated with an- 
other. 
The one (idea] no sooner . . . comes into the under- 
standing than its associate appears with it. 
Locke, Human Understanding, 11. 33. 
= Syn. 1 and 2. Associate, Friend, Companion, Cotnratif. 
Fellow, Partner, Ally, CttUeafrue, Coadjutor, Confederate. 
Associate is the most general word for persons who are con- 
nected in life, work, etc. ; it is special only in suggesting an 
alliance of some permanence. Friend is the most general 
word for persons who, through community of life or other- 
wise, have kindly feelings toward each other. Companion . 
literally a messmate, applies where the persons are much 
thrown together, but are not united by any strong tie : 
hence it is not a good synonym for htiiband or wife. 
" Many men may be admitted as companions who would 
not be altogether fit as associates," Crabb, Eng. Sytionymes, 
