Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 28, 2023 is: assay \a-SAY\ verb

Assay is a technical word meaning "to test something (such as a metal or drug) to find out what it contains or to assess its value."

// Experts will assay the gold to determine its purity.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assay#h1)

Examples:

"An obscure testing lab was hired to assay the metal because using the leading firm in the field would supposedly alert the Canadian nickel [cartel](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cartel)." — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 24 Mar. 2022

Did you know?

Usage experts warn against confusing the verbs assay and [essay](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essay#dictionary-entry-2). Some confusion shouldn’t be surprising; not only do the two somewhat uncommon words look and sound alike, they also come from the same root, the Middle French word essai, meaning "test" or "effort." (Essai, in turn, comes from the Late Latin word exagium, meaning "act of weighing.") At one time, the two terms were synonyms, sharing the meaning "try" or "attempt," but they are now typically differentiated, with essay meaning "to try or attempt" (as in "a comedic actor essaying her first dramatic role") and assay meaning "to test or evaluate" (as in "blood assayed to detect the presence of the antibody"). Of course, essay is more common as a noun referring to a short analytic or personal literary composition, but that’s another [essay](https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/essay-vs-assay-usage).