n. 1. a class mail comprising letters, postcards, and other mail sealed against inspection, having a higher priority than second, third, or fourth-class mail; -- it is the highest class of mail not handled in a special manner, as is registered or priority mail.
Syn. -- first-class, first-class mail, 1st-class mail [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ ‖‖ } n. [ Ar. & Per. abāsī, belonging to Abas (a king of Persia). ] A silver coin of Persia, worth about twenty cents. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The grass that grows after the first crop has been mown; aftermath. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Bot.) One of the cultivated forms of Andropogon Halepensis (syn. Sorghum Halepense). See Andropogon, below. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖r /mhw>, n. A plant (Macrochloa tenacissima) of North Africa; also, its fiber, used in paper making. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Amassed p. pr. & vb. n. Amassing. ] [ F. ambusher, LL. amassare; L. ad + massa lump, mass. See Mass. ] To collect into a mass or heap; to gather a great quantity of; to accumulate; as, to amass a treasure or a fortune; to amass words or phrases. [ 1913 Webster ]

The life of Homer has been written by amassing all the traditions and hints the writers could meet with. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To accumulate; heap up; pile. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. amasse, fr. ambusher. ] A mass; a heap. [ Obs. ] Sir H. Wotton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being amassed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who amasses. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. See Amass. ] An instrument of horn used for collecting painters' colors on the stone in the process of grinding. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. amassement. ] An amassing; a heap collected; a large quantity or number brought together; an accumulation. [ 1913 Webster ]

An amassment of imaginary conceptions. Glanvill. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to an ambassador. H. Walpole. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state, office, or functions of an ambassador. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A female ambassador; also, the wife of an ambassador. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Embassage. [ Obs. or R. ] Luke xiv. 32. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Embassy, the usual spelling. Helps. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A secret organization in the United States, formed in Iowa in 1887, ostensibly for the protection of American institutions by keeping Roman Catholics out of public office. Abbrev. commonly to A. P .A. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A cover for the back or arms of a chair or sofa, etc., to prevent them from wear or from being soiled by macassar or other oil from the hair. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. (cf. Sp. ardacina), fr. ardasse a kind of silk thread, fr. Ar. & Per. ardan a kind of raw silk. ] A very fine sort of Persian silk. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) An herbaceous grasslike plant (Triglochin palustre, and other species) with pods opening so as to suggest barbed arrowheads. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. asse, AS. assa; akin to Icel. asni, W. asen, asyn, L. asinus, dim. aselus, Gr. &unr_;; also to AS. esol, OHG. esil, G. esel, Goth. asilus, Dan. æsel, Lith. asilas, Bohem. osel, Pol. osiel. The word is prob. of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. ath&unr_;n she ass. Cf. Ease. ] 1. (Zool.) A quadruped of the genus Equus (Equus asinus), smaller than the horse, and having a peculiarly harsh bray and long ears. The tame or domestic ass is patient, slow, and sure-footed, and has become the type of obstinacy and stupidity. There are several species of wild asses which are swift-footed. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A dull, heavy, stupid fellow; a dolt. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Asses' Bridge. [ L. pons asinorum. ] The fifth proposition of the first book of Euclid, “The angles at the base of an isosceles triangle are equal to one another.” [ Sportive ] “A schoolboy, stammering out his Asses' Bridge.” F. Harrison. --
To make an ass of one's self, to do or say something very foolish or absurd. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Asafetida. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ It., fr. L. ad + satis enough. See Assets. ] (Mus.) A direction equivalent to very; as, adagio assai, very slow. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Assailed p. pr. & vb. n. Assailing. ] [ OE. assailen, asailen, OF. asaillir, assailler, F. assaillir; a (L. ad) + saillir to burst out, project, fr. L. salire to leap, spring; cf. L. assilire to leap or spring upon. See Sally. ] 1. To attack with violence, or in a vehement and hostile manner; to assault; to molest; as, to assail a man with blows; to assail a city with artillery. [ 1913 Webster ]

No rude noise mine ears assailing. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

No storm can now assail
The charm he wears within. Keble. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To encounter or meet purposely with the view of mastering, as an obstacle, difficulty, or the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

The thorny wilds the woodmen fierce assail. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To attack morally, or with a view to produce changes in the feelings, character, conduct, existing usages, institutions; to attack by words, hostile influence, etc.; as, to assail one with appeals, arguments, abuse, ridicule, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

The papal authority . . . assailed. Hallam. [ 1913 Webster ]

They assailed him with keen invective; they assailed him with still keener irony. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To attack; assault; invade; encounter; fall upon. See Attack. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being assailed. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. assaillant, p. pr. of assaillir. ] Assailing; attacking. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. assaillant. ] One who, or that which, assails, attacks, or assaults; an assailer. [ 1913 Webster ]

An assailant of the church. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who assails. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or power of assailing; attack; assault. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

His most frequent assailment was the headache. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. assare to roast + amarus, bitter. ] (Chem.) The peculiar bitter substance, soft or liquid, and of a yellow color, produced when meat, bread, gum, sugar, starch, and the like, are roasted till they turn brown. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to Assam, a province of British India, or to its inhabitants. -- n. sing. & pl. A native or natives of Assam. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖‖ n. [ Prob. Indian name. ] (Zool.) The American flying squirrel (Pteromys volucella). [ 1913 Webster ]

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 ]

n. [ F. (cf. It. assassino), fr. Ar. ‘hashishin one who has drunk of the hashish. Under its influence the Assassins of the East, followers of the Shaikh al-Jabal (Old Man of the Mountain), were said to commit the murders required by their chief. ] One who kills, or attempts to kill, by surprise or secret assault; one who treacherously murders any one unprepared for defense. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To assassinate. [ Obs. ] Stillingfleet. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Assassinated p. pr. & vb. n. Assassinating ] [ LL. assassinatus, p. p. of assassinare. ] 1. To kill by surprise or secret assault; to murder by treacherous violence. [ 1913 Webster ]

Help, neighbors, my house is broken open by force, and I am ravished, and like to be assassinated. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To assail with murderous intent; hence, by extended meaning, to maltreat exceedingly. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Your rhymes assassinate our fame. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such usage as your honorable lords
Afford me, assassinated and betrayed. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To kill; murder; slay. See Kill. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. assassinat. ] 1. An assassination, murder, or murderous assault. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

If I had made an assassinate upon your father. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An assassin. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of assassinating; a killing by treacherous violence. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An assassin. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Murderous. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. LL. assatio, fr. L. assare to roast. ] Roasting. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. asaut, assaut, OF. assaut, asalt, F. assaut, LL. assaltus; L. ad + saltus a leaping, a springing, salire to leap. See Assail. ] 1. A violent onset or attack with physical means, as blows, weapons, etc.; an onslaught; the rush or charge of an attacking force; onset; as, to make assault upon a man, a house, or a town. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Spanish general prepared to renew the assault. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

Unshaken bears the assault
Of their most dreaded foe, the strong southwest. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A violent onset or attack with moral weapons, as words, arguments, appeals, and the like; as, to make an assault on the prerogatives of a prince, or on the constitution of a government. Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) An apparently violent attempt, or willful offer with force or violence, to do hurt to another; an attempt or offer to beat another, accompanied by a degree of violence, but without touching his person, as by lifting the fist, or a cane, in a threatening manner, or by striking at him, and missing him. If the blow aimed takes effect, it is a battery. Blackstone. Wharton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Practically, however, the word assault is used to include the battery. Mozley & W. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Attack; invasion; incursion; descent; onset; onslaught; charge; storm. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Assaulted; p. pr. & vb. n. Assaulting. ] [ From Assault, n.: cf. OF. assaulter, LL. assaltare. ] 1. To make an assault upon, as by a sudden rush of armed men; to attack with unlawful or insulting physical violence or menaces. [ 1913 Webster ]

Insnared, assaulted, overcome, led bound. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To attack with moral means, or with a view of producing moral effects; to attack by words, arguments, or unfriendly measures; to assail; as, to assault a reputation or an administration. [ 1913 Webster ]

Before the gates, the cries of babes newborn, . . .
Assault his ears. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In the latter sense, assail is more common. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To attack; assail; invade; encounter; storm; charge. See Attack. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being assaulted. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. sexually abused; -- a euphemism.
Syn. -- molested, raped, criminally assaulted, sexually assaulted. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. One who assaults, or violently attacks; an assailant. E. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. making an assault.
Syn. -- attacking(prenominal). [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ OF. asai, essai, trial, F. essa. See Essay, n. ] 1. Trial; attempt; essay. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

I am withal persuaded that it may prove much more easy in the assay than it now seems at distance. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Examination and determination; test; as, an assay of bread or wine. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

This can not be, by no assay of reason. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Trial by danger or by affliction; adventure; risk; hardship; state of being tried. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Through many hard assays which did betide. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Tested purity or value. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

With gold and pearl of rich assay. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Metallurgy) 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The alloy or metal to be assayed. Ure. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Assay is used adjectively or as the first part of a compound; as, assay balance, assay furnace. [ 1913 Webster ]

Assay master, an officer who assays or tests gold or silver coin or bullion. --
Assay ton, a weight of 29, 1662/3 grams. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Assayed p. pr. & vb. n. Assaying. ] [ OF. asaier, essaier, F. essayer, fr. essai. See Assay, n., Essay, v. ] 1. To try; to attempt; to apply. [ Obs. or Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To-night let us assay our plot. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Soft words to his fierce passion she assayed. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To affect. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

When the heart is ill assayed. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To try tasting, as food or drink. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To subject, as an ore, alloy, or other metallic compound, to chemical or metallurgical examination, in order to determine the amount of a particular metal contained in it, or to ascertain its composition. [ 1913 Webster ]