n. [ OF. essart the grubbing up of trees, fr. essarter to grub up or clear ground of bushes, shrubs, trees, etc., fr. LL. exartum, exartare, for exsaritare; L. ex + sarire, sarrire, saritum, to hoe, weed. ] 1. (Old Law) The act or offense of grubbing up trees and bushes, and thus destroying the thickets or coverts of a forest. Spelman. Cowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A piece of land cleared of trees and bushes, and fitted for cultivation; a clearing. Ash. [ 1913 Webster ]

Assart land, forest land cleared of woods and brush. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To grub up, as trees; to commit an assart upon; as, to assart land or trees. Ashmole. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Asserted; p. pr. & vb. n. Asserting. ] [ L. assertus, p. p. of asserere to join or fasten to one's self, claim, maintain; ad + serere to join or bind together. See Series. ] 1. To affirm; to declare with assurance, or plainly and strongly; to state positively; to aver; to asseverate. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nothing is more shameful . . . than to assert anything to be done without a cause. Ray. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To maintain; to defend. [ Obs. or Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

That . . . I may assert Eternal Providence,
And justify the ways of God to men. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will assert it from the scandal. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To maintain or defend, as a cause or a claim, by words or measures; to vindicate a claim or title to; as, to assert our rights and liberties. [ 1913 Webster ]

To assert one's self, to claim or vindicate one's rights or position; to demand recognition. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To affirm; aver; asseverate; maintain; protest; pronounce; declare; vindicate. -- To Assert, Affirm, Maintain, Vindicate. To assert is to fasten to one's self, and hence to claim. It is, therefore, adversative in its nature. We assert our rights and privileges, or the cause of tree institutions, as against opposition or denial. To affirm is to declare as true. We assert boldly; we affirm positively. To maintain is to uphold, and insist upon with earnestness, whatever we have once asserted; as, to maintain one's cause, to maintain an argument, to maintain the ground we have taken. To vindicate is to use language and measures of the strongest kind, in defense of ourselves and those for whom we act. We maintain our assertions by adducing proofs, facts, or arguments; we are ready to vindicate our rights or interests by the utmost exertion of our powers. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. capable of being affirmed or asserted.
Syn. -- affirmable. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. stated as a fact.
Syn. -- alleged. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. One who asserts; one who avers pr maintains; an assertor. [ 1913 Webster ]

The inflexible asserter of the rights of the church. Milman. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. prenom. 1. declaring.
Syn. -- declaratory. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. assertio, fr. asserere. ] 1. The act of asserting, or that which is asserted; positive declaration or averment; affirmation; statement asserted; position advanced. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is a difference between assertion and demonstration. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Maintenance; vindication; as, the assertion of one's rights or prerogatives. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Positive; affirming confidently; affirmative; peremptory. [ 1913 Webster ]

In a confident and assertive form. Glanvill. [ 1913 Webster ]

As*sert"ive*ly, adv. -- As*sert"ive*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., fr. asserere. ] One who asserts or avers; one who maintains or vindicates a claim or a right; an affirmer, supporter, or vindicator; a defender; an asserter. [ 1913 Webster ]

The assertors of liberty said not a word. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Faithful assertor of thy country's cause. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Asserting that a thing is; -- opposed to problematical and apodeictical. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. assertorius, fr. asserere. ] Affirming; maintaining. [ 1913 Webster ]

Arguments . . . assertory, not probatory. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

An assertory, not a promissory, declaration. Bentham. [ 1913 Webster ]

A proposition is assertory, when it enounces what is known as actual. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]