Chapter 82

AsÏsign¶er (?), n. One who assigns, appoints, allots, or apportions. AsÏsign¶ment (?), n. [LL. assignamentum: cf. OF. assenement.] 1. An allotting or an appointment to a particular person or use; or for a particular time, as of a cause or causes in court. 2. (Law) (a) A transfer of title or interest by writing, as of lease, bond, note, or bill of exchange; a transfer of the whole of some particular estate or interest in lands. (b) The writing by which an interest is transferred. (c) The transfer of the property of a bankrupt to certain persons called assignees, in whom it is vested for the benefit of creditors. ÷ of dower, the setting out by metes and bounds of the widow's thirds or portion in the deceased husband's estate, and allotting it to her. µ Assignment is also used in law as convertible with specification; assignment of error in proceedings for review being specification of error; and assignment of perjury or fraud in indictment being specifications of perjury or fraud. As·signÏor¶ (?), n. [L. assignator. Cf. Assigner.] (Law) An assigner; a person who assigns or transfers an interest; as, the assignor of a debt or other chose in action. AsÏsim·iÏlaÏbil¶iÏty (?), n. The quality of being assimilable. [R.] Coleridge. AsÏsim¶iÏlaÏble (?), a. That may be assimilated; that may be likened, or appropriated and incorporated. AsÏsim¶iÏlate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assimilated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Assimilating (?).] [L. assimilatus, p. p. of assimilare; ad + similare to make like, similis like. See Similar, Assemble, Assimilate.] 1. To bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between. Sir M. Hale. To assimilate our law to the law of Scotland. John Bright. Fast falls a fleecy; the downy flakes Assimilate all objects. Cowper. 2. To liken; to compa?e. [R.] 3. To appropriate and transform or incorporate into the substance of the assimilating body; to absorb or appropriate, as nourishment; as, food is assimilated and converted into organic tissue. Hence also animals and vegetables may assimilate their nourishment. Sir I. Newton. His mind had no power to assimilate the lessons. Merivale. AsÏsim¶iÏlate, v. i. 1. To become similar or like something else. [R.] 2. To change and appropriate nourishment so as to make it a part of the substance of the assimilating body. Aliment easily assimilated or turned into blood. Arbuthnot. 3. To be converted into the substance of the assimilating body; to become incorporated; as, some kinds of food assimilate more readily than others. I am a foreign material, and cannot assimilate with the church of England. J. H. Newman. AsÏsim·iÏla¶tion (?), n. [L. assimilatio: cf. F. assimilation.] 1. The act or process of assimilating or bringing to a resemblance, likeness, or identity; also, the state of being so assimilated; as, the assimilation of one sound to another. To aspire to an assimilation with God. Dr. H. More. The assimilation of gases and vapors. Sir J. Herschel. 2. (Physiol.) The conversion of nutriment into the fluid or solid substance of the body, by the processes of digestion and absorption, whether in plants or animals. Not conversing the body, not repairing it by assimilation, but preserving it by ventilation. Sir T. Browne. µ The term assimilation has been limited by some to the final process by which the nutritive matter of the blood is converted into the substance of the tissues and organs. AsÏsim¶iÏlaÏtive (?), a. [Cf. LL. assimilativus, F. assimilatif.] Tending to, or characterized by, assimilation; that assimilates or causes assimilation; as, an assimilative process or substance. AsÏsim¶iÏlaÏtoÏry (?), a. Tending to assimilate, or produce assimilation; as, assimilatory organs. AsÏsim¶uÏlate (?), v. t. [L. assimulatus, p. p. of assimulare, equiv. to assimilare. See Assimilate, v. t.] 1. To feign; to counterfeit; to simulate; to resemble. [Obs.] Blount. 2. To assimilate. [Obs.] Sir M. Hale. AsÏsim·uÏla¶tion (?), n. [L. assimulatio, equiv. to assimilatio.] Assimilation. [Obs.] Bacon. As·siÏne¶go (?), n. See Asinego. Ass¶ish (?), a. Resembling an ass; asinine; stupid or obstinate. Such... appear to be of the assich kind... Udall. AsÏsist¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Assisting.] [L. assistere; ad + sistere to cause to stand, to stand, from stare to stand: cf. F. assister. See Stand.] To give support to in some undertaking or effort, or in time of distress; to help; to aid; to succor. Assist me, knight. I am undone! Shak. Syn. - To help; aid; second; back; support; relieve; succor; befriend; sustain; favor. See Help. AsÏsist¶, v. i. 1. To lend aid; to help. With God not parted from him, as was feared, But favoring and assisting to the end. Milton. 2. To be present as a spectator; as, to assist at a public meeting. [A Gallicism] Gibbon. Prescott. AsÏsist¶ance (?), n. [Cf. F. assistance.] 1. The act of assisting; help; aid; furtherance; succor; support. Without the assistance of a mortal hand. Shak. 2. An assistant or helper; a body of helpers. [Obs.] Wat Tyler [was] killed by valiant Walworth, the lord mayor of London, and his assistance,... John Cavendish. Fuller. 3. Persons present. [ Obs. or a Gallicism] AsÏsist¶ant (?), a. [Cf. F. assistant, p. pr. of assister.] 1. Helping; lending aid or support; auxiliary. Genius and learning... are mutually and greatly assistant to each other. Beattie. 2. (Mil.) Of the second grade in the staff of the army; as, an assistant surgeon. [U.S.] µ In the English army it designates the third grade in any particular branch of the staff. Farrow. AsÏsist¶ant (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, assists; a helper; an auxiliary; a means of help. Four assistants who his labor share. Pope. Rhymes merely as assistants to memory. Mrs. Chapone. 2. An attendant; one who is present. Dryden. AsÏsist¶antÏly, adv. In a manner to give aid. [R.] AsÏsist¶er , n. An assistant; a helper. AsÏsist¶ful (?), a. Helpful. AsÏsist¶ive (?), a. Lending aid, helping. AsÏsist¶less, a. Without aid or help. [R.] Pope. AsÏsist¶or (?), n. (Law) A assister. AsÏsith¶ment (?), n. See Assythment. [Obs.] AsÏsize¶ (?), n. [OE. assise, asise, OF. assise, F. assises, assembly of judges, the decree pronounced by them, tax, impost, fr. assis, assise, p. p. of asseoir, fr. L. assid?re to sit by; ad + sed?re to sit. See Sit, Size, and cf. Excise, Assess.] 1. An assembly of knights and other substantial men, with a bailiff or justice, in a certain place and at a certain time, for public business. [Obs.] 2. (Law) (a) A special kind of jury or inquest. (b) A kind of writ or real action. (c) A verdict or finding of a jury upon such writ. (d) A statute or ordinance in general. Specifically: (1) A statute regulating the weight, measure, and proportions of ingredients and the price of articles sold in the market; as, the assize of bread and other provisions; (2) A statute fixing the standard of weights and measures. (e) Anything fixed or reduced to a certainty in point of time, number, quantity, quality, weight, measure, etc.; as, rent of assize. Glanvill. Spelman. Cowell. Blackstone. Tomlins. Burrill. [This term is not now used in England in the sense of a writ or real action, and seldom of a jury of any kind, but in Scotch practice it is still technically applied to the jury in criminal cases. Stephen. Burrill. Erskine.] (f) A court, the sitting or session of a court, for the trial of processes, whether civil or criminal, by a judge and jury. Blackstone. Wharton. Encyc. Brit. (g) The periodical sessions of the judges of the superior courts in every county of England for the purpose of administering justice in the trial and determination of civil and criminal cases; Ð usually in the plural. Brande. Wharton. Craig. Burrill. (h) The time or place of holding the court of ~; Ð generally in the plural, assizes. 3. Measure; dimension; size. [In this sense now corrupted into size.] An hundred cubits high by just assize. Spenser. [Formerly written, as in French, assise.] AsÏsize¶, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Assizing.] [From Assize, n.: cf. LL. assisare to decree in ~. Cf. Asses, v.] 1. To assess; to value; to rate. [Obs.] Gower. 2. To fix the weight, measure, or price of, by an ordinance or regulation of authority. [Obs.] AsÏsiz¶er (?), n. An officer who has the care or inspection of weights and measures, etc. AsÏsiz¶or (?), n. (Scots Law) A juror. AsÏso¶ber (?), v. t. [Pref. adÏ + sober. Cf. Ensober.] To make or keep sober. [Obs.] Gower. AsÏso·ciaÏbil¶iÏty (?), n. The quality of being associable, or capable of association; associableness. ½The associability of feelings.¸ H. Spencer. AsÏso¶ciaÏble (?), a. [See Associate.] 1.ÿCapable of being associated or joined. We know feelings to be associable only by the proved ability of one to revive another. H. Spencer. 2. Sociable; companionable. [Obs.] 3. (Med.) Liable to be affected by sympathy with other parts; Ð said of organs, nerves, muscles, etc. The stomach, the most associable of all the organs of the animal body. Med. Rep. AsÏso¶ciaÏbleÏness, n. Associability. AsÏso¶ciÏate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Associated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Associating (?).] [L. associatus, p. p. of associare; ad + sociare to join or unite, socius companion. See Social.] 1. To join with one, as a friend, companion, partner, or confederate; as, to associate others with ?s in business, or in an enterprise. 2. To join or connect; to combine in acting; as, particles of gold associated with other substances. 3. To connect or place together in thought. He succeeded in associating his name inseparably with some names which will last an long as our language. Macaulay. 4. To accompany; to keep company with. [Obs.] Friends should associate friends in grief and woe. Shak. AsÏso¶ciÏate, v. i. 1. To unite in company; to keep company, implying intimacy; as, congenial minds are disposed to associate. 2. To unite in action, or to be affected by the action of a different part of the body. E. Darwin. AsÏso¶ciÏate (?), a. [L. associatus, p. p.] 1. Closely connected or joined with some other, as in interest, purpose, employment, or office; sharing responsibility or authority; as, an associate judge. While I descend... to my associate powers. Milton. 2. Admitted to some, but not to all, rights and privileges; as, an associate member. 3. (Physiol.) Connected by habit or sympathy; as, associate motions, such as occur sympathetically, in consequence of preceding motions. E. Darwin. AsÏso¶ciÏate, n. 1. A companion; one frequently in company with another, implying intimacy or equality; a mate; a fellow. 2. A partner in interest, as in business; or a confederate in a league. 3. One connected with an association or institution without the full rights or privileges of a regular member; as, an associate of the Royal Academy. 4. Anything closely or usually connected with another; an concomitant. The one [idea] no sooner comes into the understanding, than its associate appears with it. Locke. Syn. - Companion; mate; fellow; friend; ally; partner; coadjutor; comrade; accomplice. AsÏso¶ciÏa·ted (?), a. Joined as a companion; brought into association; accompanying; combined. ÷ movements (Physiol.), consensual movements which accompany voluntary efforts without our consciousness. Dunglison. AsÏso¶ciÏateÏship (?), n. The state of an associate, as in Academy or an office. AsÏso·ciÏa¶tion (?; 277), n. [Cf. F. association, LL. associatio, fr. L. associare.] 1. The act of associating, or state of being associated; union; connection, whether of persons of things. ½Some... bond of association.¸ Hooker. SelfÐdenial is a kind of holy association with God. Boyle. 2. Mental connection, or that which is mentally linked or associated with a thing. Words... must owe their powers association. Johnson. Why should... the holiest words, with all their venerable associations, be profaned? Coleridge. 3. Union of persons in a company or society for some particular purpose; as, the American Association for the Advancement of Science; a benevolent association. Specifically, as among the Congregationalists, a society, consisting of a number of ministers, generally the pastors of neighboring churches, united for promoting the interests of religion and the harmony of the churches. ÷ of ideas (Physiol.), the combination or connection of states of mind or their objects with one another, as the result of which one is said to be revived or represented by means of the other. The relations according to which they are thus connected or revived are called the law of association. Prominent among them are reckoned the relations of time and place, and of cause and effect. Porter. AsÏso·ciÏa¶tionÏal (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to association, or to an association. 2. Pertaining to the theory held by the associationists. AsÏso·ciÏa¶tionÏism (?), n. (Philos.) The doctrine or theory held by associationists. AsÏso·ciÏa¶tionÏist, n. (Philos.) One who explains the higher functions and relations of the soul by the association of ideas; e. g., Hartley, J. C. Mill. AsÏso¶ciÏaÏtive (?), a.ÿHaving the quality of associating; tending or leading to association; as, the associative faculty. Hugh Miller. AsÏso¶ciÏa·tor (?), n. An associate; a confederate or partner in any scheme. How Pennsylvania's air agrees with Quakers, And Carolina's with associators. Dryden. AsÏsoil¶ (?), v. t. [OF. assoiler, absoiler, assoldre, F. absoudre, L. absolvere. See Absolve.] 1. To set free; to release. [Archaic] Till from her hands the spright assoiled is. Spenser. 2. To solve; to clear up. [Obs.] Any child might soon be able to assoil this riddle. Bp. Jewel. 3. To set free from guilt; to absolve. [Archaic] Acquitted and assoiled from the guilt. Dr. H. More. Many persons think themselves fairly assoiled, because they are... not of scandalous lives. Jer. Taylor. 4. To expiate; to atone for. [Archaic] Spenser. Let each act assoil a fault. E. Arnold. 5. To remove; to put off. [Obs.] She soundly slept, and careful thoughts did quite assoil. Spenser. AsÏsoil¶, v. t. [Pref. adÏ + soil.] To soil; to stain. [Obs. or Poet.] Beau. & Fl. Ne'er assoil my cobwebbed shield. Wordsworth. AsÏsoil¶ment (?), n. Act of assoiling, or state of being assoiled; absolution; acquittal. AsÏsoil¶ment, n. A soiling; defilement. AsÏsoil¶zie (?), AsÏsoil¶yie, v. t. [Old form assoi?e. See Assoil.] (scots Law) To absolve; to acquit by sentence of court. God assoilzie him for the sin of bloodshed. Sir W. Scott. As¶soÏnance (?), n. [Cf. F. assonance. See Assonant.] 1. Resemblance of sound. ½The disagreeable assonance of ?sheath' and ?sheated.'¸ Steevens. 2. (Pros.) A peculiar species of rhyme, in which the last accented vowel and those which follow it in one word correspond in sound with the vowels of another word, while the consonants of the two words are unlike in sound; as, calamo and platano, baby and chary. The assonance is peculiar to the Spaniard. Hallam. 3. Incomplete correspondence. Assonance between facts seemingly remote. Lowell. As¶soÏnant (?), a. [L. assonans, p. pr. of assonare to sound to, to correspond to in sound; ad + sonare to sound, sonus sound: cf. F. assonant. See Sound.] 1.ÿHaving a resemblance of sounds. 2. (Pros.) Pertaining to the peculiar species of rhyme called assonance; not consonant. As·soÏnan¶tal (?), a. Assonant. As¶soÏnate (?), v. i. [L. assonare, assonatum, to respond to.] To correspond in sound. AsÏsort¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assorted; p. pr. & vb. n. Assorting.] [F. assortir; ? (L. ad) + sortir to cast or draw lots, to obtain by lot, L. sortiri, fr. sors, sortis, lot. See Sort.] 1. To separate and distribute into classes, as things of a like kind, nature, or quality, or which are suited to a like purpose; to classify; as, to assort goods. [Rarely applied to persons.] They appear... no ways assorted to those with whom they must associate. Burke. 2. To furnish with, or make up of, various sorts or a variety of goods; as, to assort a cargo. AsÏsort¶, v. i. To agree; to be in accordance; to be adapted; to suit; to fall into a class or place. Mitford.

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