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to examine or -n-lyze:
to -ssay a situation; to -ssay an event.
metallurgy. to -n-lyze (an ore, alloy, etc.) in order to determine the quant-ty of gold, silver, or other metal in it.
pharmacology. to subject (a drug) to an -n-lysis for the determination of its potency or composition.
to judge the quality of; -ssess; evaluate:
to -ssay someone’s efforts.
to try or test; put to trial:
to -ssay one’s strength; to -ssay one’s debating abilities.
to attempt; try; essay:
to -ssay a dance step.
to contain, as shown by -n-lysis, a certain proportion of usually precious metal.
metallurgy. determination of the amount of metal, especially gold or silver, in an ore, alloy, etc.
a substance undergoing -n-lysis or trial.
a detailed report of the findings in -ssaying a substance.
archaic. examination; trial; attempt; essay.
contemporary examples

but the next afternoon, and perhaps the next, we would return to the same cruxes, and often -ssay the same options.
remembering dmitri nabokov, the novelist’s son and literary executor brian boyd may 9, 2012

historical examples

i threw it into the fuming nitrous acid to -ssay it, and there arising a little effervescence, i added distilled water thereon.
buffon’s natural history. volume x (of 10) georges louis leclerc de buffon

i’ve seen him like this before—the night he shot our own men in the -ssay office.
the la chance mine mystery susan carleton jones

this coating is white in the centre, and grey towards the edges, and is found some distance from the -ssay.
a system of instruction in the practical use of the blowpipe anonymous

-ssay has gone through the fragments literally piece by piece.
gold in the sky alan edward nourse

the -ssay is doubtless correct, but the deductions therefrom are most misleading.
getting gold j. c. f. johnson

i understand that the -ssay indicates it is a valuable find.
frank merriwell’s triumph burt l. standish

at the same time it yields considerable vapor, and deposits an incrustation around the -ssay.
a system of instruction in the practical use of the blowpipe anonymous

the temperature necessary for the success of an -ssay is about 150° of wedgewood.
a dictionary of arts, manufactures and mines andrew ure

and all the barons came thither, that whoever would might -ssay to take the sword.
stories of king arthur and his knights u. waldo cutler

verb (əˈseɪ)
to subject (a substance, such as silver or gold) to chemical -n-lysis, as in the determination of the amount of impurity
(transitive) to attempt (something or to do something)
(transitive; may take a clause as object) to test, -n-lyse, or evaluate: to -ssay the significance of early childhood experience
noun (əˈseɪ; ˈæseɪ)

an -n-lysis, esp a determination of the amount of metal in an ore or the amounts of impurities in a precious metal
(as modifier): an -ssay office

a substance undergoing an -n-lysis
a written report on the results of an -n-lysis
a test
(archaic) an attempt
v.

c.1300, “to try, endeavor, strive; test the quality of,” from anglo-french -ssaier, from -ssai (n.), from old french essai “trial” (see essay).
n.

“trial, test of quality, test of character,” mid-14c., from anglo-french -ssai (see -ssay (v.)). meaning “-n-lysis” is from late 14c.

-ssay as·say (ās’ā’, ā-sā’)
n.

qualitative or quant-tative -n-lysis of a substance, especially of an ore or a drug, to determine its components.

a substance to be so -n-lyzed.

the result of such an -n-lysis.

an -n-lysis or examination.

v. as·sayed, as·say·ing, as·says (ā-sā’, ās’ā’)

to subject a substance to chemical -n-lysis.

to examine a person’s capability by trial or experiment; put to a test.

to evaluate a situation; -ssess.

to attempt; try.

to be shown by -n-lysis to contain a certain proportion of atoms, molecules, compounds, or precious metal.

-ssay
(ās’ā, ə-sā’)

a quant-tative determination of the amount of a given substance in a particular sample. -ssays 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 heated to the point where impurities in the metal fuse with the flux, leaving the purified metal as a residue.

a bio-ssay.