as ‧ say /əˈseɪ/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: assaier , essaier , from Late Latin exagium ; ⇨ ↑ essay 1 ]
to test a substance, especially a metal, to see how pure it is or what it is made of
—assay /əˈseɪ, ˈæseɪ $ ˈæseɪ, æˈseɪ/ noun [countable]