I. əz, (ˈ)az adverb
Etymology: Middle English as, alse, alswa, adverb & conjunction, from Old English alswā, ealswā, ælswā just as, likewise — more at also
1. : to the same degree or amount : to such an extent : equally — used to modify an adjective or an adverb
I haven't found any new poems as good as my old favorites — Randall Jarrell
neither of them wrote as well after the experience as before it — Van Wyck Brooks
nowhere else in the world is there a people as intelligent or perceptive of humor — F.P.Adams
2. : for instance : by way of example : thus — usually used to introduce illustrative details
high-pitched sounds come to suggest spatial height, as in bird songs — Thomas Munro
II. conjunction
Etymology: Medieval Latin as, alse, alswa
1. : to which (degree or amount) : in which (degree or extent) : in or to the same degree in which — usually used as a correlative after an adjective or adverb modified by adverbial as or so and often followed by a noun or pronoun representing an incomplete clause whose verb would be the same as that of the main clause
the position of this science is as honorable as it is secure — L.A.White
no general presentation … can interest the children as much as the learning of the foreign language — Ruth Mays
his dull red hair was snow-powdered nearly as white as that of a British grenadier
2. : in the same way or manner that : in the form or condition in which
his hair is brown as are his eyes
studied the simile as Horner used it
— sometimes followed by a noun or pronoun representing an incomplete clause whose verb would be the same as that of the main clause
during his stay on the island he lived as an islander
3. : according to what : in accordance with that which or the way in which
as he said, the stream was full of trout
his criticisms, as I remember, were coldly received
he is really quite good as boys go
4. : as if
were saying farewell to each other as to their childhood — Edith Sitwell
this mechanical thought is crushing as with an iron roller all that is organic — W.B.Yeats
5. : during or at the same time that : while , when
promptly opened fire again as he turned away — C.S.Forester
as he paced back and forth the idea occurred to him
you will see the tower as you cross the bridge
6. : notwithstanding the degree to which : though
some see in him, Gael as he was, the earliest Protestant — Gilbert Highet
7. : in a manner or degree befitting or having equal certainty with the fact, belief, or hope that
this swears he, as he is a prince, is just and as I am a gentleman, I credit him — Shakespeare
as I live, I cannot believe it
8. : for the reason that : because , since
remained in great loneliness and considerable privation as he had no income — W.L.Sullivan
9. dialect : than — used in comparisons
he better not be later as midnight — T.B.Costain
10.
a. : that the result is : that — used with preceding so or such
so clearly guilty as to leave no doubt of his conviction
and such a son as all men hailed me happy — John Milton
b. : that — used to introduce a noun clause and now dialect except in certain negative expressions with know, say, or see that have wide usage in informal speech
he said as he would come
I don't know as it makes any difference
c. dialect : in so far as : that — used to introduce an adverbial clause
he hasn't come out again as I've seen
•
- as is
- as it were
- as new
- as you were
III. pronoun
1.
a. : that , who , which — used to introduce an adjectival clause and having same or such as antecedent
their children should grow up in the same intellectual culture as they have enjoyed — G.B.Jeffery
tears such as angels weep burst forth — John Milton
b. now dialect : that , who , which — used to introduce an adjectival clause and having a noun or pronoun as antecedent
a lot of things happened … as never ought to — Richard Llewellyn
was going to tell the gospel to them as had ears — R.P.Warren
2. : a fact that : that
he is a foreigner, as is evident from his accent
I have used thee, filth as thou art, with humane care — Shakespeare
IV. preposition
Etymology: as (I)
1. : after the manner of : the same as : like
had seen strong men become as weaklings when they were faced with … being shipwrecked — H.A.Chippendale
his face was as a mask of gauze through which nothing was quite clearly visible — Max Beerbohm
2.
a. : in the character, role, function, capacity, condition, or sense of
more interested in … attitudes as attitudes than he is in their definition and embodiment in aesthetic forms — Mark Schorer
eager for power as power
his appearance as Hamlet
his appointment as instructor
b. : in a way or of a nature constituting
he comes home at six as a rule
as a result of the trip he was exhausted
c. : for consideration or considered in a specified form or relation — usually used before prepositions and participles (as against, between, distinguished, and opposed )
his argument as against yours
my opinion as distinguished from theirs
V. ˈas noun
( plural as·ses ˈa(ˌ)sēz, -_sə̇z)
Etymology: Latin — more at ace
1. : libra 2
2.
a.
(1) : a bronze coin of the ancient Roman republic varying in weight from 1 as, or 12 ounces, to 1/2 ounce
(2) : one of several similar coins issued by some of the Roman emperors
b. : a unit of value equivalent to an as coin
VI.
singular of aesir
VII. ˈäs noun
also as nas -näs
Etymology: Persian
: a Persian card game similar to poker and by some thought to be its progenitor