assay
[ verb a-sey; noun as-ey, a-sey ]
/ verb æˈseɪ; noun ˈæs eɪ, æˈseɪ /
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
to contain, as shown by analysis, a certain proportion of usually precious metal.
noun
Origin of assay
1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French; variant of
essay
OTHER WORDS FROM assay
as·say·a·ble, adjective as·say·er, noun un·as·sayed, adjective un·as·say·ing, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH assay
assay essayWords nearby assay
Example sentences from the Web for assayer
British Dictionary definitions for assayer
assay
verb (əˈseɪ)
noun (əˈseɪ, ˈæseɪ)
Derived forms of assay
assayable, adjective assayer, nounWord Origin for assay
C14: from Old Northern French
assai; see
essay
Medical definitions for assayer
assay
[ ăs′ā′, ă-sā′ ]
n.
v.
Scientific definitions for assayer
assay
[ ăs′ā, ə-sā′ ]
A quantitative determination of the amount of a given substance in a particular sample. Assays are regularly used to determine the purity of precious metals. They can be performed by wet methods or dry methods. In the wet method, the sample is dissolved in a reagent, like an acid, until the purified metal is separated out. In the dry method, the sample is mixed with a flux (a substance such as borax or silica that helps lower the melting temperature) and then the sample is heated to the point where impurities in the metal fuse with the flux, leaving the purified metal as a residue.
A bioassay.