I. ˈash, ˈaa(ə)sh, ˈaish noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English asshe, from Old English æsc; akin to Old High German ask ash, Old Norse askr, Latin ornus wild mountain ash, Greek oxyē beech, Lithuanian uosis ash
1. : a tree of the genus Fraxinus — see tree illustration
2. : the wood of ash which is tough and elastic and is used especially to make tool handles, skis, and bats
3. : any of numerous Austrlian trees of various genera (as Acronychia, Alphitonia, Cupania, Elaeocarpus, Eucalyptus, Flindersia, Litsea, Malaisia, Panax, and Schizomeria ) having tough strong wood — see black ash , blue ash , mountain ash
4.
[Old English æsc, name of the corresponding runic letter]
: the ligature æ used in Old English to represent a low front vowel
II. adjective
1. : of or relating to the ash
2. : made of ash wood
III. noun
( -es )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English asshe, from Old English asce, æsce; akin to Old High German asca ash, Old Norse aska, Gothic azgo, Latin arēre to be dry — more at ardor
1.
a. : the earthy or mineral residue that remains after combustible substances (as coal) have been thoroughly burned — usually used in plural
carried the ashes from the cellar to the alley
b. : the solid residue of nonvolatile oxides or salts of metals (as sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron) or of nonmetallic atoms (as silica) or of pure metal (as platinum) left when combustible substances (as plants, foods) have been thoroughly oxidized (as by nitric acid or some other wet oxidizing agent) and frequently used in quantitative analysis as a measure of the mineral-matter content of the original material
c. : fine particles of mineral matter ejected from a volcanic vent during and explosive eruption
lava may be blown out as fragments by explosions of steam, to fall as dust, ash , and cinders — L.V.Pirsson
d. : soda ash — used chiefly commercially
2. ashes plural : the ruins or remains of anything that has been destroyed especially by fire : the last traces
a new city was built on the ashes of the old
3. ashes plural
a. : whatever remains after the cremation or disintegration of the human body
having collected from the funeral pile the ashes of her lover — Lafcadio Hearn
b. : man or his body as mortal or subject to decay
we are ashes and dust — Alfred Tennyson
4. ashes plural : something that symbolizes grief, repentance, or humiliation
there was room for an innocent mistake but he cast ashes on his head that it should have happened to Mr. Tibbets — John Buchan
5.
a. ashes plural : deathlike pallor
the lip of ashes and the cheek of flame — Lord Byron
b. ashes plural but singular in construction : a light brownish gray that is paler than slate gray and redder and darker than silver gray
c. : ash gray
6. ashes plural : the mythical symbol of supremacy contested for in Australia-versus-England cricket test matches
England … retains the ashes — Australian Weekly Review
IV. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
1. : to sprinkle with ashes
the corn was ashed to keep away weevils
2. : to convert into ash : burn to ashes
the bones were ashed in a furnace
3. : to buff or scour with a wet paste of pumice or other abrasive