▪ I. assay, n.
(əˈseɪ)
Forms: 4 assai, 4–5 asay(e, 4–7 assaie, assaye, 6 a saie, assey(e, 4– assay. Also aphetic say, and refashioned essay, q.v.
[a. OF. assai, assay, var. of essai, essay, cogn. with Pr. essai, assai, assag, Sp. asayo, Cat. assatg, It. assaggio (also Cat. ensatg, ensaig, Sp. ensayo, Pg. ensaio):—L. exagium ‘weighing,’ but used in Romanic in wider sense of ‘examination, trial, testing’; f. L. ex-agĕre, exigĕre to weigh, try, prove, measure, adjust, ascertain, examine, inquire into. For the sense of the L. cf. exāmen = exagmen: see examine; for the form cf. contāgium = contāmen f. con-tangĕre, naufragium f. frangĕre. Fr. essai = It. assaggio:—L. exagium may be compared to Fr. ai = OIt. aggio:—L. habeo. The etymological form from L. ex- was in es-, but in Romanic this was by confusion with other prefixes made as- and en-. In Fr. the etymological essai has now quite ousted assai, and in Eng., since the end of the 16th c., essay has similarly taken the place of assay, exc. in the ‘assay of metals,’ and uses founded upon it. An aphet. say was very common down to 17th c.]
I. The action or process of trying, trial generally.
1. The trying (of a person or thing); trial imposed upon or endured by any object, in order to test its virtue, fitness, etc. Obs. exc. as fig. use of 6.
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 341 Noblie regned he here, bi profe and gode assaies. c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 290 But folk of wyves maken non assay, Til thay ben weddid. c 1450 Merlin xiv. 219 Now lete se your cheualrye, for now be ye come to the assay. c 1500 W. de Worde Communyc. C iij, Whan thou of all thy frendes haste made assaye Thou shalte fynde none lyke to me. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 164 Angelo had neuer the purpose to corrupt her; onely he hath made an assay of her vertue. 1711 Budgell Spect. No. 307 ¶12 To make an Assay of his Parts in Geometry. 1868 Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art Add. 211 A great assay of the human soul. |
† 2. ‘Trial,’ tribulation, affliction. Obs.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 412 The King..Wes set in-till full hard assay. c 1430 Lydg. Bochas, Their pacience put at fell assayes. 1596 Spenser F.Q. i. vii. 27 Sorrowfull assay, Which..almost rent her tender heart in tway. 1671 Milton P.R. i. 263 My way must lie Through many a hard assay even to the death. |
† 3. Experiment. put it in assay: make the experiment, try it. Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Compl. Venus 62 Let the jelouse put hit in assay. 1525–30 More De quat. Nouiss. Wks. 77/1 Yf thou putte it in a saie and make a proofe. 1644 Milton Educ. Wks. 1738 I. 140 It may prove much more easy with assay than it now seems at distance. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) I. 84 'Tis an assay upon human nature. |
† 4. Experience. Obs.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls Ser.) I. 73 Schort witted men and litel of assay. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xi, Þe doom of experience and of assay. |
† 5. The faculty of trying or judging of things.
| c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 537 Þanne haue y tynt all my tast, touche and assaie. |
II. Trial specifically.
6. a. The trial of metals, by ‘touch,’ fire, etc.; the determination of the quantity of metal in an ore or alloy; or of the fineness of coin or bullion.
| c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 1110 If that thay were put to such assayes The gold of hem hath now so badde alayes With bras, that..It wolde rather brest in two than plye. a 1500 Songs on Costume (1849) 52 Thyng counterfeet wol faylen at assay. 1600 Hakluyt Voy. (1810) III. 316 To get some of that their copper for an assay. 1724 Swift Drapier's Lett. ii. Wks. 1761 III. 31 An assay was made of the coin. 1798 Phil. Trans. LXXXVIII. 424 The valuable minerals are soon pointed out by assay. 1813 Wellington in Gurwood Disp. X. 194, I haue requested Sir Charles Stuart to have an assay made of them at the Portuguese Mint. 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss. s.v., Both assays and analyses may be either qualitative or quantitative..The assay value of gold and silver ores is usually determined in Troy ounces. |
b. Esp. in biological assay (= bio-assay), the determination of the strength of a substance by means of a test on an organism, usu. in comparison with the effect of a standard preparation.
| 1922 Burn & Dale Rep. Biol. Stand. I. 50 We do not assume that it will be necessary to make a new batch of the Standard for the assay of every batch of the commercial extract. 1927 Burn & Ellis in Pharmaceut. Jrnl. 9 Apr. 384/1 (title) The Biological Assay of the Specific Alkaloid of Ergot. 1928 H. H. Dale in J. H. Burn Methods Biol. Assay p. x, The most serious difficulty in biological assay is that due to the variability of the living reagent. 1961 Lancet 22 July 214/1 The daily urinary loss of vitamin B12..was measured in three patients by microbiological assay. |
7. The metal or substance to be assayed.
| 1837 R. B. Ede Pract. Chem. 10 The assay is moistened and made to adhere to the flux and heated with it. 1879 Rutley Stud. Rocks x. 158 To get this colouration the assay should not be previously reduced. |
† 8. The trial of weights, measures, quality of bread, etc. by legal standard. Obs. exc. Hist.
| 1601 F. Tate Househ. Ord. Ed. II, §24 (1876) 17 The clarke of the market..shal take the assay of al manner of mesures, waightes and elnes within the vierge. 1631 Chart. 6 Chas. I, in Bingham Rep. V. 341 Assize and assay of bread, wine, and beer. 1751 Chambers Cycl., Assay of weights and measures signifies the trial or examination of common weights and measures. |
† 9. Venery. Trial of ‘grease of a deer.’ Obs.
| c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1328 Serched hem at þe asay, summe þat þer were. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. xv. 244 Nor tooke so rich assaies. (Note. Breaking up of Deare brought into the Quarry.) |
10. The trial of anything by taste, tasting. arch.
| 1477 Norton Ord. Alch. (Ashm. 1652) v. 73 Yet of some parts seperable, A Tast maie well be Convenable..to make assay Whether they be well wrought or nay. 1561 T. N[orton] Calvin's Inst. iii. ii. (1634) 276 Being before..without judgment of taste to take assay of them. 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Countr. Farm 610 As concerning the tasting of wine..it is good to make the assay at such time as the North-East winde bloweth. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 747 Whose taste, too long forborn, at first assay Gave elocution to the mute. 1823 Lamb Elia Ser. i. xii. (1865) 98 That Guyon must take assay of the glorious bait. |
† 11. fig. A taste, a foretaste. Obs.
| 1594 J. King Jonah (1864) 56 A taste and assay beforehand of that everlasting and utter darkness. 1605 Shakes. Lear i. ii. 47 But as an essay, or taste of my vertue. |
† 12. a. The act, latterly perhaps nothing more than complimentary, of tasting the food or drink before giving it to an exalted personage. Obs. exc. Hist.
| 1547 in Strype Eccl. Mem. II. App. i. A 7 A sumptuous dinner, and the chief mourner served with assays and al other service. 1548 Hall Chron. (1550) 14 The esquier whiche was accustomed to sewe and take the assaye before kyng Rychard. 1602 Carew Cornwall (1723) 137 b, Serued with kneeling assay, and all other rites due to the estate of a Prince. 1641 Prynne Antipathie 200 Hee made Dukes and Earles to serve him with Wine, with assay taken. |
b. cup of assay: a small cup with which assay of wine, etc. was taken.
| c 1530 in Gutch Coll. Cur. II. 283 Twoo litill Cuppis of asseye silvar and gilt. 1548 Hall Chron. (1550) 212 The Maior of London claymed to serue the quene with a cuppe of golde and a cuppe of assay of the same. 1852 Thackeray Esmond ii. ii. (1876) 171 In this state she had her train carried by a knight's wife, a cup and cover of assay to drink from, and fringed cloth. |
III. A trying to do something, an attempt.
13. An attempt, an endeavour. arch.
| c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 696 Yet wol I make assay The secound tyme, that ye mow taken heede. c 1450 Merlin vi. 100 He..that was ferthest from the assaye of this swerde. 1625 Bacon Seditions, Ess. (Arb.) 395 A kinde of shaking off the yoake and Assay of disobedience. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 32 She and her companions made a fresh assay to go past them. 1725 Pope Odyss. iv. 535 Perilous th' assay, unheard the toil, T' elude the prescience of a God by guile. 1876 Blackie Songs Relig. 64 O! it is a hard assay For the reach of human clay. |
† 14. Putting forth of one's strength or energy, best effort. arch. to do his assay: to put forth all his might, do his best. Obs.
| c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1590 Praynge him that he most doon his assay To gete the flese of golde. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 68 He hath put all his assay To winne thing which he ne may get. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 143 Their malady conuinces The great assay of Art. 1634 A. Huish, Endeavouring with our strength and whole assay, Our God to praise. 1797 Coleridge Christabel 1, Deep from within she seems half-way To lift some weight with sick assay. |
† 15. An attack, an assault. Obs.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xiv. 34 In vaveryng fyrth arivit thai Saufly, but bargane or assay. c 1400 Destr. Troy. viii. 3903 Paris was ffull siker at asaye, and a sad knight. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. i. 13 The first chiftanis for assay or defens. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. iv. 23 To have wrought unwares some villainous assay. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, i. ii. 151 Galling the gleaned Land with hot Assayes. 1602 ― Ham. ii. ii. 71 To giue th' assay of Armes against your Maiestie. 1705 Hickeringill Priest-cr. iv. 211 The next Essay and Assay that I make against Priest-craft, shall be to Disarm it for ever. |
† 16. A first tentative effort, in learning or practice. Obs.
| 1560 Disob. Child in Hazl. Dodsley II. 284, I went to school, And of my Latin primer I took assay. 1613 R. C. Table Alph., Preamble, forespeech..entrance, or assay. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia Pref. 1 Our practices haue hitherto beene but assayes, and are still to be amended. 1677 Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra (1867) 247 These are his first assays with young men. |
† 17. A trial specimen; a sample. Obs.
| 1581 Lambarde Eiren. iv. xvi. (1588) 580, I labour to bee short, and therfore I giue but an assaie of each thing. 1675 Collins in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men I. 212 Be pleased to thank him for those assays of his method already sent. |
IV. Quality as determined by trial.
18. † a. Approved quality, proof, temper of metal, etc. Obs. b. Standard of fineness in the precious metals.
| c 1430 Syr Generides 6037 Ne had his helme be goode of assay He had died the same day. 1436 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 196 Instrumentis of werre of beste assay. 1596 Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 13 Purfled with gold and pearle of rich assay. 1820 G. Carey Funds 99 As twenty-two carats are to the gross weight so is the assay or real fineness to the quantity. |
† 19. fig. Character, temper. Obs.
| 1393 Gower Conf. III. 356 That outward feignen youthe so And ben within of pouer assay. 1579 J. Stubbes Gaping Gulf A vij, To be of one assaie or touche with the Idolatrous and trayterous Israelits. |
† 20. Sounding; depth as ascertained by it. Obs.
| 1436 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 186 Havenesse grete and godely bayes, Sure, wyde, and depe, of gode assayes. |
V. Phr. at all assays. (Also at all assay, at every assay.)
† 21. At every trial, in every crisis, juncture, or time of need; passing imperceptibly into: At all events, in any case; on every occasion, always. Obs.
| c 1360 Yesterday 166 in E.E.P. (1862) 137 Put þi trust in godus Mercie. Hit is þe best at al assay. c 1400 Test. Love i. (1560) 274/1, I have thee found at all assayes..to be readie. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) i. 531 Ye shal me fynde plesant at euery assaye. 1570 Marr. Wit & Sc. v. iv. in Hazl. Dodsl. II. 389 God speed us well, I will make one at all assays. 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 135 God..our present deliuerer and ayder at all assayes. 1612 Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. 1653, 153 Words..which might serve at all assayes, or upon all occasions. 1658 Ussher Ann. vi. 164 He had at all assayes, ever upheld their State, against their enemies. |
† 22. (Armed, ready) at all assays: ready for every event. Obs.
| 1553 Udall Roister D. (Arb.) 36 Shall we sing a fitte?.. Dou. I am at all assayes. 1594 2nd Rep. Faustus in Thoms Prose Rom. (1858) III. 408 Four Janisaries horsemen armed at all assaies. 1603 Florio Montaigne i. xlviii. (1632) 155 The Roman gentlemen armed at all assayes. |
VI. Comb. in names of things used in or connected with assaying; as assay-balance, assay-beam, assay-furnace, assay-house, assay office, assay-oven; assay-ton (see quot.). Also assay-master, q.v.,
| 1746 Phil. Trans. XLIV. 245 The flat Pieces of Glass, often placed under the Scales of an Essay-Balance. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., Assay-Ballance. 1863 Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc. IX. 226 The recent receipt of two assay beams at the Mint. 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4313/3 Without..the accustomary Charges of making Essay Furnaces. 1773 Act 13 Geo. III, c. 52 §4 Such Silver Vessel, Plate, or manufactured Silver shall be marked..with the Mark of the Company within whose Assay Office such Plate shall be assayed and marked. 1851 San Francisco Herald 1 Feb. 2/1 Arrangements for opening the United States Assay Office in this city, are being rapidly completed. 1853 in E. Clacy Lady's Visit Gold Diggings Austral. xv. 233 The quantity of gold taken to the Assay-office, during four consecutive weeks, amounting to less than four thousand ounces. 1869 ‘Mark Twain’ Innoc. Abr. xviii. 179 The cargoes of ‘crude bullion’ of the assay offices of Nevada. 1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 284 Comming to the Assay-house, there we found diuers gentlemen desirous to see the manner of making of Assayes of Gold and Siluer. 1683 Pettus Fleta Min. i. (1686) 8 There are many sorts of Assay-Ovens which Assayers made use of. 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., Assayton, a weight of 291662/3 grams. Each milligram of gold or silver obtained from one assay-ton of ore represents one ounce troy to the ton of 2000 pounds avoirdupois. |
▪ II. assay, v.
(əˈseɪ)
Forms: 4 asaie, (asyghe), 4–5 asay(e, 4–6 assaye, 4–7 assaie, (5 asse), 5–6 assey(e, 6 assai, asey, (assy), 4– assay. Also aphetic say, and refashioned essay, q.v.
[a. OF. a(s)saye-r, a(s)saie-r, also essayer, cogn. with Sp. asayar, Pr. essaiar, assaiar, assatjar, It. assaggiare (cf. also Pr. and Pg. ensaiar, Sp. ensayar, Cat. ensajar):—late L. or early Romanic *exagiāre, f. exagium: see assay n. In later Fr. the etymological form essayer is alone found; this was introduced into Eng. by Caxton, and, except as applied to the testing of metals, assay is now an archaic form of essay. An aphet. say was formerly common.]
I. To put to the test.
1. a. trans. To put to the proof, try (a person or thing); to test the nature, excellence, fitness, etc. of. Obs. exc. as fig. use of 4.
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 219 He said he wild asay þer hors alle in a mile. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1399 In þis world liggis twa ways, Als men may fynd þat þam assays. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 27 After dyner y wille assaie my wiff, and bidde her lepe into the basin. 1513 More Rich. III, (1641) 395 Every man assaid his armour and proved his weapon. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. (Arb.) 20 Therfore did I take this little matter in hande to assaye myselfe. 1671 Milton P.R. ii. 233, I shall..his strength as oft assay. 1791 Cowper Odyss. viii. 27 With which they should assay his force. |
† b. with obj. clause. Obs.
| c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 487 That al here lyf ne don nat but asayen How many women they may done a shame. c 1450 Lonelich Grail xxvii. 300 Only to asayen what he wolde do. 1513–75 Diurn. Occurr. (1833) 59 To assy ȝif thair ladderis wer convenient and lang aneuch. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. 7 To assay whether my talent..may be profitable in any measure to Gods Church. |
† 2. intr. To make trial (of). Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 839, I wole of hym assaye At certeyn dayes yeer by yeer to paye. c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 647 A-say of her sobernesse. 1576 Thynne in Animadv. App. 108, I manye tymes with deeper muse assayed. |
† 3. trans. To try by touch; to ‘feel’ by handling. lit. and fig. Obs.
| 1366 Mandeville viii. 91 On that mount appeared Crist to Seynt Thomas..and bad him assaye his woundes. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. vi. 26 Suffre me to touche and assaie þe stat of þi þouȝt by a fewe demaundes. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iii. xxiii. (1495) 70 Olde men and wyse chese the veynes of the arme to assaye the puls. |
4. a. trans. To test the composition of (an ore, alloy, or other metallic compound) by chemical means, so as to determine the amount of a particular metal contained in it; to determine the degree of purity of one of the precious metals.
| c 1440 Morte Arthure 2347, I sende hyme the somme, assaye how hyme likes! 1697 Luttrell Brief Rel. IV. 239 The goldsmiths are to meet to assay the new money coyned at the Tower. 1754 Cramer (title) Elements of the Art of Assaying Metals in Theory and Practice. 1818 Accum Chem. Tests 104 To assay it for lead. 1879 G. Gladstone in Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 146/1 A small piece..is cut off each ingot that has to be assayed. |
b. fig. To test as metal.
| c 1400 Hylton Scala Perf. (W. de W. 1494) xxiv, Tyll thou be assaid and purifyed by the fyre of desire in devoute prayer. 1834 Southey Doctor clx. (1862) 404 Sterling merit..he can now understand and value, having..the means of assaying it. |
c. To show (a certain yield) by assay; to yield on assay. Also absol.
| 1882 Rep. Prec. Metals U.S. 305 Assay as high as $100 to the ton. 1892 Graphic 26 Mar. 387/1 A ‘pocket’..which assays a good many ounces to the ton. 1927 Sunday Times 13 Feb. 2 Ore,..assaying as high as 7·3 dwts. (31s.). |
d. To test the strength of a substance by means of a test on an organism (see assay n. 6 b); so assayed ppl. a.
| 1922 Burn & Dale Rep. Biol. Stand. I. 51 A comparison of each batch with its accurately assayed predecessor should suffice. 1928 Lancet 20 Oct. 820/1 Drugs..can be assayed with a sufficient degree of accuracy by biological methods. 1962 Ibid. 6 Jan. 24/1 Tissue-culture methods have been used for some time to assay the effect of drugs on normal and neoplastic cells. |
† 5. trans., absol., and intr. with of. To try by tasting. spec. To taste food or drink before it is offered to a prince or lord. Obs. exc. Hist.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvi. 74, I prayed pieres to pulle adown an apple..and suffre me to assaye what sauoure it hadde. 1393 Ibid. C. vii. 357 Ich haue good Ale, godsyb gloton, wolt þow assaye? c 1460 Bk. Curtasye 751 in Babees Bk. (1868) 325 Þo Coke assayes þe mete vngryȝt, Þo sewer he takes and kouers on ryȝt. 1522 World & Child in Hazl. Dodsley I. 266 At the Pope's-Head sweet wine assay. a 1529 Skelton El. Rummyng 397 Of thyne ale let us assay. 1693 Robertson Phraseol. Gen. 154 To assay or taste before or first, Prægustare. 1859 Turner Dom. Archit. iii. iii. 80 The Carver then entered the hall..and at once commenced the cautious process of assaying. |
† 6. trans. To try the depth of, sound. Obs.
| 1665 Manley Grotius' Low-C. Wars 337 He sent Count Solre to assay and sound the Issell. |
† 7. trans. To try, try on (clothes). Obs.
| 1592 Lyly Mydas v. iii. 64 Apollo is..assaying on some Shepherd's coate. 1631 Dekker Match Mee ii. Wks. 1873 IV. 156 Assay this glove, Sir. |
† 8. trans. To practise by way of trial. Obs.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvi. 106 And did him assaye his surgerye On hem þat syke were. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 18 Assaye the meanes to redresse him. 1596 Spenser F.Q. i. viii. 2 Deare Sir your mighty powres assay. 1671 Milton P.R. i. 143 Let him tempt and now assay His utmost subtlety. a 1725 Pope Odyss. xix. 675 Their strength and skill the suitors shall assay. |
† 9. trans. and absol. To try or examine, for the sake of information. Obs.
| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 5 Ich shul asaye hure myself and sothliche apose. 1387 Trevisa Higden (1865) I. 229 Þe emperour assaied and founde sooþ all þat þey seide. 1481 Caxton Myrr. i. v. 20 The auncyent faders wold..assaye the werkis of our Lord. 1622 R. Hawkins Voy. S. Sea (1847) 127 Assaying our pumpe to know if our shippe made more water then her ordinary. |
† 10. a. trans. To try to know or learn; to inquire.
| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xvii. 164 He suffrede me and seide ‘assay hus oþer name.’ 1401 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 41 This he doth in dede asseye of hem that knowith. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. iii. 314 He knew..Which Socrates and Chærephon In vain assaid so long agone. |
† b. To try to attain to, endeavour after. Obs. rare.
| 1597 Daniel Civ. Wares i. xlix, For every prince seeing his danger neere, By any meanes his quiet peace assaies. |
† 11. trans. and absol. To have proof of; to learn or know by experience. Obs.
| 1340 Ayenb. 142 Herte þet þis heþ a-sayd naȝt ne willieþ more. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 1076 Thow hast nat yit assayed al hire wit. 1413 Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle iii. x. 56 No man knoweth the peyne but he that hath assayed. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 93/4 Yf thou hast preued and assayed that I am the temple of god byleue it. 1597 Shakes. Lover's Compl. 155 Who ever shunn'd by precedent The destined ill she must herself assay? |
II. To try with afflictions, temptations, force, etc. In some senses apparently influenced by assail.
† 12. trans. To try with afflictions, to subject to ‘trials.’ Obs.
| c 1400 Rom. Rose 2688 Thou shalt wel by thy silf see That thou must nedis assaid be. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. i. (1520) 6/2 After that God had assayed hym [i.e. Job] in his patience he lyved an .C. and 40 yere. 1596 Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 24 O, how great sorrow my sad soule assaid! |
† 13. To try with temptations or things that influence; to tempt; to try to gain over. Obs.
| 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 563/2 The diuel..letted not to assai Job againe and againe for al the pacience that he founde in him. 1589 Greene Menaph. (Arb.) 57 To assay him by curtesie before hee assayled him with rigour. 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. ix. xviii. (1632) 913 Catesby whether hee assayed him, or assayed him not, reported vnto them. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World ii. 547 Then did he assay them with goodly words, accompanied with gifts. |
† 14. a. To try the mettle of (any one) in fight, to try to conquer; hence to attack, assault, assail.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 376 Sa hard anoy thaim then assayit, Off hungir, cauld, with schowris snell. c 1400 Rowland & Ot. 797 Be Mahoun..I scholde assaye his Body. c 1440 Generydes 6074 He thought not hym for to Asse. a 1470 Tiptoft Caesar's Comm. xiii. (1530) 17 Theyr enemies lept sodenly out..in so much as they assayd them that bare the banners. c 1500 Lancelot 569 His purpos Is..planly to assay Your lond, with mony manly man of were. 1582–8 Hist. James VI (1804) 176 These of Edinburgh..went to assaye the castell of Merchestoun, with some peeces of ordinance. 1676 Hobbes Iliad xii. 51 Exhorting them the Trenches to assay. |
† b. To challenge to a trial of strength, skill, etc.
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 14 Did you assay him to any pastime? |
† c. fig. To attack anything difficult: cf. assail.
| 1605 Drayton Man in Moone 435 She the high Mountaynes actively assayes. 1643 Denham Coopers Hill 303 Thinks not their rage so desperate t' assay An Element more merciless than they. |
† 15. To assail: a. with words, or arguments; to accost, address. Obs.
| 1513 Douglas æneis iv. x. 96 Eneas..Gan stert on fut, and fast his feris assayit. Awalk anon, get vp my men in hy. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. i. ii. 186 Bid her selfe assay him. |
† b. with love-proposals. Obs.
| c 1550 Dane Hew 17 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 135 And thought alway in his minde..how he might her assay, And if she would not to say him nay. 1591 Spenser Virgils Gnat 491 Th' other was with Thetis love assaid. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 26 What an unwaied Behauiour hath this Flemish drunkard pickt..that he dares In this manner assay me? |
III. To try to do, attempt, venture.
16. trans. To attempt, try to do (anything difficult).
| c 1300 K. Alis. 3879 Now let seo gef ony is so hardy That durste hit him asyghe. 1382 Wyclif Heb. xi. 29 The which thing Egipciens asayinge weren deuourid. 1513 Douglas æneis ii. xii. (xi) 117 Wilfull all aventuris newlingis to assay. 1593 Spenser Sonn. li, Never ought was excellent assayde Which was not hard t' atchive and bring to end. 1647 J. Sprigge Ang. Rediv. i. vi. (1854) 54 It was resolved first to assay that. 1826 Scott Woodst. ii, The stranger paused, as if uncertain whether he should demand or assay entrance. |
† 17. intr. or with inf. a. To set oneself (to do something), to address or apply oneself. Obs.
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 47 For to com tille Inglond sone suld he assay. c 1400 Destr. Troy ii. 382 Þat he go shuld, Soiorne þere a season, assay when hym lyke. 1541 Elyot Image Govt. 13 All noble men assaied to folowe hym. 1611 Bible Deut. iv. 34 Hath God assayed to goe and take him a nation from the midst of another nation? 1665–9 Boyle Occas. Refl. v. ix. (1675) 330 He fits them to the various tempers of the Persons he assays to work upon. |
b. To make the attempt, to endeavour (the issue being conceived as uncertain); to do one's best. Generally with inf.
| 1370 Lay-Folks Mass-Bk. App. iv. 626 Noþeles · I wol assay. 1382 Wyclif 2 Macc. ii. 24 So we temptiden, or assayeden, for to abregge in to oo boke, thingus comprehendid..in fyue bookis. 1535 Coverdale Jonah i. 13 Neuerthelesse, the men assayed with rowinge, to brynge the shippe to londe. 1620 Jrnls. Pilgrims (1848) 30 For Cod we assayed, but found none. 1791 Cowper Iliad ix. 727 Him Œneus also..with earnest prayers Assay'd to soften. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) II. x. 521 The King's strength was failing, but he assayed to show himself in the usual kingly state. |
† c. To venture, make bold. With inf. Obs.
| a 1400 Cov. Myst. 26 This frute to ete I xal asayn. 1579 Fenton Guicciard. (1618) 282 It is very manifest, that he neuer durst assay to oppresse vs without that vnion. 1605 Play of Stucley (1878) 191 So both our spies and friends dare not assay To hang out signal, nor come near the Port. 1678 Bunyan Pilgr. i. (1862) 136 Then they assayed to look. |