v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Assessed p. pr. & vb. n. Assessing. ] [ OF. assesser to regulate, settle, LL. assessare to value for taxation, fr. L. assidere, supine as if assessum, to sit by, esp. of judges in a court, in LL. to assess, tax. Cf. Assize, v., Cess. ] 1. To value; to make a valuation or official estimate of for the purpose of taxation. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To apportion a sum to be paid by (a person, a community, or an estate), in the nature of a tax, fine, etc.; to impose a tax upon (a person, an estate, or an income) according to a rate or apportionment. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To determine and impose a tax or fine upon (a person, community, estate, or income); to tax; as, the club assessed each member twenty-five cents. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To fix or determine the rate or amount of. [ 1913 Webster ]

This sum is assessed and raised upon individuals by commissioners in the act. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Liable to be assessed or taxed; as, assessable property. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who is assessed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. assessio, fr. assid&unr_;re to sit by or near; ad + sed&unr_;re to sit. See Sit. ] A sitting beside or near. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. assessamentum. ] 1. The act of assessing; the act of determining an amount to be paid; as, an assessment of damages, or of taxes; an assessment of the members of a club. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A valuation of property or profits of business, for the purpose of taxation; such valuation and an adjudging of the proper sum to be levied on the property; as, an assessment of property or an assessment on property. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ An assessment is a valuation made by authorized persons according to their discretion, as opposed to a sum certain or determined by law. It is a valuation of the property of those who are to pay the tax, for the purpose of fixing the proportion which each man shall pay. Blackstone. Burrill. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The specific sum levied or assessed. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. An apportionment of a subscription for stock into successive installments; also, one of these installments (in England termed a “call”). [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., one who sits beside, the assistant of a judge, fr. assid&unr_;re. See Assession. LL., one who arranges of determines the taxes, fr. assid&unr_;re. See Assess, v., and cf. Cessor. ] 1. One appointed or elected to assist a judge or magistrate with his special knowledge of the subject to be decided; as legal assessors, nautical assessors. Mozley & W. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who sits by another, as next in dignity, or as an assistant and adviser; an associate in office. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whence to his Son,
The assessor of his throne, he thus began. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

With his ignorance, his inclinations, and his fancy, as his assessors in judgment. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One appointed to assess persons or property for the purpose of taxation. Bouvier. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. assessorial, fr. L. assessor. ] Of or pertaining to an assessor, or to a court of assessors. Coxe. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The office or function of an assessor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A joint assessor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n., pl. An instrument for describing circles, measuring figures, etc., consisting of two, or (rarely) more, pointed branches, or legs, usually joined at the top by a rivet on which they move. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The compasses for drawing circles have adjustable pen points, pencil points, etc.; those used for measuring without adjustable points are generally called dividers. See Dividers. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bow compasses. See Bow-compass. --
Caliber compasses,
Caliper compasses. See Calipers. --
Proportional,
Triangular, etc.,
compasses. See under Proportional, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. a pair of lenses fixed together in a frame, used for correcting defective vision. Also called a pair of eyeglasses. See also eyeglass{ 1 }.
Syn. -- spectacles, specs, glasses. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. pl. Same as eyeglasses. See eyeglass{ 1 }.
Syn. -- spectacles, specs, eyeglasses. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. See Molasses. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. mélasse, cf. Sp. melaza, Pg. melaço, fr. L. mellaceus honeylike, honey-sweet, mel, mellis, honey. See Mellifluous, and cf. Melasses. ] The thick, brown or dark colored, viscid, uncrystallizable sirup which drains from sugar, in the process of manufacture; any thick, viscid, sweet sirup made from vegetable juice or sap, as of the sorghum or maple. See Treacle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To revise or renew one's assessment of; as, we need to reassess our position to include the new information. Usually used without the hyphen.
Syn. -- re-evaluate, reevaluate. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. A renewed or second assessment. [ 1913 Webster ]