English
assay
Assay comes from Middle English assay ‘Trialling, assaying’, from Late Latin exagium ‘a weighing, weight’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-‘to drive’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘to drive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexigō‘to drive out’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEexagium‘a weighing, weight’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400essai‘trial’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400assai
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500assay‘Trialling, assaying’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485assay
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-‘to drive’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘to drive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexigō‘to drive out’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEexagium‘a weighing, weight’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400essai‘trial’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400assai
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500assay‘Trialling, assaying’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485assay
Earliest quotation: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, xviij: “I wold not by my wille that ony of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’
suggest, register, acre, gesture, digest, congestion, essay, agrarian, belligerent, progesterone, gestation, ingestion, ingest, agitate, axiomatic, agger, gerund, gestion, samaj, 128 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
strategy, agony, antagonist, reactionary, axiom, antagonism, agonist, antagonize, stratagem, glucagon, agonize, 102 more
through Proto-Italic *agō ‘to drive’
reaction, actively, transaction, radioactive, inactive, retroactive, unambiguous, reagent, hyperactivity, ambiguously, 80 more
through Latin agō ‘to drive’
act, action, active, agency, activity, actual, agent, actor, agenda, examination, examine, activate, ambiguous, squat, enact, agile, ambiguity, agility, agitation, radium, actuator, cogent, actuation, inexact, actuate, redact, 97 more
through Latin exigō ‘to drive out’
Today it means
noun Trial, attempt.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / assay