Assay

Definition:

(n.) Trial; attempt; essay.
(n.) Examination and determination; test; as, an assay of bread or wine.
(n.) Trial by danger or by affliction; adventure; risk; hardship; state of being tried.
(n.) Tested purity or value.
(n.) 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.
(n.) The alloy or metal to be assayed.
(v.) To try; to attempt; to apply.
(v.) To affect.
(v.) To try tasting, as food or drink.
(v.) 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.
(v. i.) To attempt, try, or endeavor.