2. Examination and determination; test; as, an assay of bread or wine. [Obs.] This can not be, by no assay of reason. Shak.
3. Trial by danger or by affliction; adventure; risk; hardship; state of being tried. [Obs.] Through many hard assays which did betide. Spenser.
4. Tested purity or value. [Obs.] With gold and pearl of rich assay. Spenser.
5. (Metallurgy)
Defn: The act or process of ascertaining the proportion of a particular metal in an ore or alloy; especially, the determination of the proportion of gold or silver in bullion or coin.
6. The alloy or metal to be assayed. Ure. Assay and essay are radically the same word; but modern usage has appropriated assay chiefly to experiments in metallurgy, and essay to intellectual and bodily efforts. See Essay.]
Note: Assay is used adjectively or as the first part of a compound; as, assay balance, assay furnace. Assay master, an officer who assays or tests gold or silver coin or bullion. — Assay ton, a weight of 29.1662/3 grams.
ASSAY
As*say", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Assaying.]
Etym: [OF. asaier, essaier, F. essayer, fr. essai. See Assay, n.,
Essay, v.]
1. To try; to attempt; to apply. [Obs. or Archaic] To-night let us assay our plot. Shak. Soft words to his fierce passion she assayed. Milton.
2. To affect. [Obs.] When the heart is ill assayed. Spenser.