assembly
(əˈsɛmblɪ)
Forms: 4–5 assemblee, 4–6 assemblé, 5 assembillé, -blay, 6 -blie, 5– assembly. See also aphet sembly.
[a. OF. a(s)semblee, n., f. fem. pa. pple. of assembler: see assemble v.1 and -y2. Cf. army.]
I. The action or fact of assembling, the state of being assembled.
1. a. Gathering together, meeting; the state of being collected or gathered; = assemblage 1.
| 1413 Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle v. v. 76 The byrdes..syttynge in assemble vpon an hye tre. 1436 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 152 The duk of Burgayn..Mad gret assembillé in landes wyd. c 1500 Lancelot 267 Mony assemblay that gawane gart be maid To wit his name. 1641 Termes de la Ley 187 Unlawfull assembly is where people assemble themselves together to doe some unlawfull thing against the peace. 1876 Green Short Hist. viii. §6. 521 A Triennial Bill enforced the assembly of the Houses every three years. |
b. The assembling of troops;
freq. attrib. Cf. sense III.
| 1917 H. W. Yoxall Jrnl. 18 Sept. in Fashion of Life (1966) iv. 37 Went with..two runners to peg out our assembly area... The marking-out of the assembly position was not difficult. 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms 42 The assembly position must be far enough to the rear to enable [etc.]. 1919 King's Royal Rifle Corps Chron. 1916 62 The Battalion..proceeded to the assembly trenches. 1923 Kipling Irish Guards in Gt. War I. 324 The Battalion moved nearer their assembly-areas. |
c. The action or method of assembling a machine or composite article; the parts so assembled.
| 1914 Engineering Mag. XLVII. 6 The boards travel..down the line, growing in completeness as they move, each ‘team’ working simultaneously on opposite sides of the board, adding some step to the assembly. Ibid. 882/2 Axles to be placed in chassis assembly at the Highland Park shops are lifted up off the chain-line. 1922 Autocar 10 Nov. 983 Arrol-Johnston gear assembly, showing how the whole can be removed without disturbing the box itself{ddd}Rear axle assembly. 1935 Discovery June 183/2 The assembly of an ordinary electric-lampholder consisting of eighteen parts. 1937 Ibid. June 187/1 The glass envelope housing the electrode assembly. 1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway ii. 43 The port tailplane and elevator, the port landing wheel assembly. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 247 The whole assembly can be very light in weight and may be cheap to produce. |
Also
attrib., as
assembly-belt (also
fig.),
assembly-plant,
assembly-room,
assembly-shop;
assembly-line (orig
U.S.), a group of machines and workers concerned with the progressive assembly of some product; also
attrib. and
fig.| 1938 Auden & Isherwood On Frontier 17 The assembly-belt is like an army on the move. 1945 S. Lewis C. Timberlane (1946) i. 13 He had a wife unremittingly productive of babies, for whose assembly-belt production he felt only accidentally responsible. |
| 1914 Engineering Mag. XLVII. 858/2 The study of the finishing and assembling of front-axle components shows how labor-costs may be..reduced..by the use of sliding assembly lines, chain-driven for the final assembling, but having the partial assemblies moved by hand. 1926 Sci. Amer. July 41/1 The illustration shows the chassis on the assembly line. 1943 S. C. Menefee Assignment (1944) i. v. 103 The assembly-line method of putting bombers together has great possibilities. 1945 Reader's Digest Oct. 82/2 The syndicate developed an assembly-line method of producing beef. 1955 20th Cent. June 548 From the top of a school assembly line they are carried by their parents or the State to a conveyor belt that runs through the spiry city [sc. Oxford] for three years or so. |
| 1931 Economist 28 Feb. 432/1 The project to build an assembly plant at the new port of Gdynia has not been carried any further. |
| 1897 Outing (U.S.) XXX. 279/2 They are then polished, nickelplated,..and sent to the assembly-room to take their places in the wheel. 1914 Auto-motor Jrnl. 21 Mar. 362/1 It is only because every part is dead true before it reaches the assembly shop. |
d. The assembling of parts of a film or sound recording. Also
attrib.| 1949 W. H. Offenhauser 16-Mm. Sound Motion Pict. x. 328 Editing and assembly are loose and broad terms customarily used to describe the processes that occur between the original records and the release prints. 1960 O. Skilbeck Film & T.V. Terms 12 Assembly, rushes of a film joined together in script scene order, with spare takes and number boards eliminated; but not, as yet, edited. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 246 Copy editing, the copying of selected extracts from recorded material into sequence on a main programme assembly tape. |
† 2. The coming together of two persons or things; meeting, conjuction, union.
Cf. assemblage 2.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 759 My makelez lambe..Me ches to hys make, al-þaȝ vnmete Sum tyme semed þat assemblé. 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 51 Vnder Southamptone was þer assemble, Of Harald & Hardknoute. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 255/4 The unyte and assemble of the flesshe of oure lord and of oure lady. |
† 3. Hostile meeting, onslaught, attack.
Obs.| 1375 Barbour Bruce xii. 491 He gert trwmp vp to the assemble. c 1400 Destr. Troy xv. 6299 He was..sonest in assembly in þe sad fyght. a 1500 Lancelot 3336 The Knycht..Wich at the first assemble in this sted Wencussith all. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 454 Ane scharpar sembla ȝit wes thair neuer sene. |
II. The company assembled.
4. A gathering of persons; a number of people met together; a concourse, throng.
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 73 Þe bisshop corouned hir þore, bifor þat faire semble. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 216 Barones an burgeis..I seiȝ in þis assemble. 1486 Caxton Curial 10 Kepe you ferre fro suche an assemblee. 1543 Necess. Doctr. F j b, Ecclesia, that is to saye, an assemble of people called out from other. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. iii. ii. 19 If there bee any in this Assembly, any deere Friend of Cæsars. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 1 ¶5, I sometimes pass for a Jew in the Assembly of Stock Jobbers. 1825 Bro. Jonathan I. 286 The assembly broke up. |
5. a. esp. A gathering of persons for the purpose of deliberation and decision; a deliberative body, a legislative council.
| 1366 Mandeville iii. 16 Thei holden here Grete Conseilles and here Assembleez. c 1440 Morte Arth. 1578 Salle he never..sitt in þe assemblé, in syghte wyth his feris. 1534 More On the Passion Wks. 1302/1 Therefore agreed thys greate assemble that they would not take hym on the holye daye. 1681 Nevile Plato Rediv. 72 A Government consisting of a Prince and a Popular Assembly. 1718 Pope Iliad i. 77 The assembly seated, rising o'er the rest, Achilles thus the king of men address'd. 1878 Gladstone Prim. Homer 125 The Achaian assemblies were in general regularly summoned by the heralds. |
b. Hence in various specific or historical uses:
Assembly or
General Assembly: the name given to the legislature in some of the United States of America.
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland: the representative body which meets annually to direct its affairs; other Presbyterian bodies elect similar councils.
National Assembly of France: the popularly-elected branch of the legislature.
Primary Assembly: (see
quot.).
Westminster Assembly of Divines, appointed by the Long Parliament in 1643, to aid in settling the government and liturgy of the Church of England (whence
The Assembly's Catechism).
| a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. iv. 344 The General Assembly of the Church..holden in December [1561] after the Queen's Arrival. 1643 Milton Divorce Introd., To the Parliament of England, with the Assembly. 1688 Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 223 The Comittee presented to this board three bills which was brought to them from y⊇ Assembly. 1759 Robertson Hist. Scotl. I. iii. an. 1560 The first general assembly of the church..was held this year. 1794 J. Gifford Louis XVI 212 The inhabitants of every district in France, preparatory to the election of delegates, hold what is called a primary assembly, where they choose a prescribed number of electors, who are to act for the whole in the choice of a representative to the states. 1839 Penny Cycl. XV. 255/2 Mirabeau was now acknowledged as the chief leader in the National Assembly. |
6. a. A gathering of persons for religious worship; a congregation.
| 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. iii. 50 We haue no Temple but the wood, no assembly but horne-beasts. 1641 Hinde J. Bruen xxvii. 83 To bring in such able and godly Ministers..into the publike Assembly. a 1748 Watts Hymn, Lord, how delightful 'tis to see A whole assembly worship thee. |
b. spec. In schools, a general gathering of staff and pupils (
usu. before lessons begin) for worship or other purposes.
| 1932 [see school assembly s.v. school VI 16 a]. 1943 Times Educ. Suppl. 25 Dec. 622/1 The day begins quietly with assembly. 1955 E. Blishen Roaring Boys iii. 114 At assembly the head announced that it was going to be a fine year. 1968 ‘P. Hobson’ Titty's Dead i. 14 The bell for Assembly clanged through the school. 1984 S. Townsend Growing Pains A. Mole 141 Lousy stinking school started today... Pandora and I held hands in assembly. |
7. A gathering of persons for purposes of social entertainment. (The public assembly, which formed a regular feature of fashionable life in the 18th century, is described by Chambers (
Cycl. 1751) as ‘a stated and general meeting of the polite persons of both sexes, for the sake of conversation, gallantry, news, and play.’ Private assemblies corresponded in some respects to the modern ‘reception’ or ‘at-home.’)
| 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 60 Haply in priuate. Adr. And in assemblies too. 1603 ― Meas. for M i. iii. 9, I haue euer lou'd the life remoued, And held in idle price to haunt assemblies. 1718 Free-thinker No. 2. 10 He will find admittance into all the crowded Balls and Assemblies. 1764 Foote Patron i. (1774) 9 You know this is his day of assembly, I suppose you will be there. 1865 H. Phillips Amer. Paper Curr. II. 167 Gaiety pervaded the American camp..and an assembly was organized. 1883 Scotsman 15 Jan. 1/1 (Advt.) Citizen Assemblies. Fancy Dress Ball in aid of the Royal Infirmary. |
† 8. A collection of things;
= assemblage 4.
| 1642 Howell For. Trav. (Arb.) 51 An assembly of huge crags and hils. 1699 Evelyn Acetaria (1729) 149 A very plentiful assembly of Sallet-Herbs. |
III. A military call by drum or bugle.
Cf. assemble n.| 1727–51 Chambers Cycl., Assembly is also used..for the second beat of the drum. On hearing this, the soldiers strike their tents, roll them up, and then stand to their arms. The third beating is called the march, as the first is called the general. 1803 Sir J. Nicholls in Gurwood Disp. II. 394 The generale was beat at half-past four, the assembly at half-past five. |
IV. Comb.,
assembly-ground, a place where birds assemble
esp. for mating;
assembly house, (
a)
= sembly-house (
sembly 4); (
b) a house in which assemblies (see sense 7) were held;
assembly language Computing, a low-level programming language that corresponds closely to the machine language of a computer but employs mnemonics and labels in place of numerical codes and operands;
assembly-man, a member of an Assembly (see sense 5);
assembly-place, a place in which an assembly is held;
spec. = assembly-ground;
assembly program Computing = assembler 5 a;
assembly routine Computing, (
a) a routine which assembles other routines; (
b) a routine for converting symbolic code into machine code,
usu. as a task within a larger program;
cf. assembler 5 a;
assembly-room, a room in which assemblies (see sense 7) were formerly held, and in which balls, concerts, and similar entertainments are now given.
| 1906 E. Selous in Zoologist X. 419 There were, too, some good examples of the deportment of Ruffs on the assembly-ground. 1920 H. E. Howard Territory in Bird Life v. 173 In the first place, there are the assembly grounds to which the birds repair season after season; and then, on the assembly grounds, there are the territories. |
| 1502 in Oxf. Univ. Statutes (1888) 217 In Domo vocata le Assemblie-House in Universitate prædicta. 1749 B. M. Carew Apol. for Life 28 He saw a fine House, and demanding whose it was, they told him it was the Assembly-House [in Maryland]. 1762 O. Goldsmith Life R. Nash 46 People of fashion [at Bath] make public breakfasts at the assembly-houses. |
| 1964 Honeywell Gloss. Data Processing 3/2 Assembly language, the machine-oriented programming language (e.g. easy, argus) belonging to an assembly system. 1965 Times 7 Jan. 14 Manufacturers today are expected to supply..a fairly simple assembly language which makes it possible to instruct the machine without recourse to its own confusing language of zeros and ones. 1979 J. E. Rowley Mechanised In-House Information Syst. i. 52 Assembly languages are powerful, and make for easier program construction than machine codes. 1983 Listener 12 May 38/1 Assembly-language programming is still an exceedingly cryptic business. |
| 1647 in Harl. Misc. (1745) V. 93/1 (title) The Assembly-man. 1837 Haliburton Clockm. Ser. i. xxxii. 347 He sot up for an Assembly-man. 1875 Wingate in N. Amer. Rev. CXX. 161 An assembly-man came to his room..to receive the price of his vote. 1684 Baxter 12 Argts. §16 28 Separatists, such as the Assembly-men had been. |
| 1936 Discovery Sept. 263/1 The last occasion in which a new assembly-place in this country was chosen was in 1919. 1941 J. S. Huxley Uniqueness of Man ix. 198 Assembly-places [of birds] for mating. |
| 1955 R. K. Richards Arithmetic Operations in Digital Computers xii. 379 An ‘assembly program’ is..used to assemble the sections and compute the actual storage locations and addresses from the symbolic notation. 1961 Leeds & Weinberg Computer Programming Fund. ii. 50 We define the assembly program as a program capable of translating some other program from the coder-acceptable programming language to the computer-acceptable machine language. 1984 Byte Nov. 524/2 The instruction set considered legal by the assembler is that specified by Motorola for the MC68000. The editor lets you create 68000 assembly programs and regular text files. |
| 1744 Johnson L.P., Savage Wks. III. 298 Nor could she enter the assembly-rooms..without being saluted with some lines from The Bastard. 1862 Thackeray Four Georges ii. 99 Every country town had its assembly-room. |
| 1951 Proc. R. Soc. A. CCVI. 541 An assembly routine is one which may be used to organize the input of a whole programme, marshalling the various sub-routines in suitable places in the store, and making the necessary adjustments in the orders. The method of inserting extra print orders was originated by M. V. Wilkes, who also constructed the first assembly routine. 1984 Byte May 371/3 The program must check for the occurrence of an overrun. Upon finding one, the assembly routine sets a flag that can be read by the BASIC program once the data collection is finished. |