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Webster 1913 Edition


Assoil

As-soil′

,
Verb.
T.
[OF.
assoiler
,
absoiler
,
assoldre
, F.
absoudre
, L.
absolvere
. See
Absolve
.]
1.
To set free; to release.
[Archaic]
Till from her hands the spright
assoiled
is.
Spenser.
2.
To solve; to clear up.
[Obs.]
Any child might soon be able to
assoil
this riddle.
Bp. Jewel.
3.
To set free from guilt; to absolve.
[Archaic]
Acquitted and
assoiled
from the guilt.
Dr. H. More.
Many persons think themselves fairly
assoiled
, because they are . . . not of scandalous lives.
Jer. Taylor.
4.
To expiate; to atone for.
[Archaic]
Spenser.
Let each act
assoil
a fault.
E. Arnold.
5.
To remove; to put off.
[Obs.]
She soundly slept, and careful thoughts did quite
assoil
.
Spenser.

As-soil′

,
Verb.
T.
[Pref.
ad-
+
soil
.]
To soil; to stain.
[Obs. or Poet.]
Beau. & Fl.
Ne’er
assoil
my cobwebbed shield.
Wordsworth.

Webster 1828 Edition


Assoil

ASSOIL'

,
Verb.
T.
[L. absolvo.] To solve; to release; to absolve.

ASSOIL'

,
Verb.
T.
To soil; to stain. Obs.

Definition 2024


assoil

assoil

English

Verb

assoil (third-person singular simple present assoils, present participle assoiling, simple past and past participle assoiled)

  1. (transitive, archaic) To absolve, acquit; to release from blame or sin.
    • Dr. H. More
      acquitted and assoiled from the guilt
    • Jeremy Taylor
      Many persons think themselves fairly assoiled, because they are [] not of scandalous lives.
  2. (archaic) To set free, release.
    • 1590, Edmund Spendser, The Faerie Queene, I.x:
      But first thou must a season fast and pray, / Till from her hands the spright assoiled is [...].
  3. To solve; to clear up.
    • Bishop Jewel
      Any child might soon be able to assoil this riddle.
  4. To expiate; to atone for.
    • E. Arnold
      Let each act assoil a fault.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)
  5. To remove; to put off.
    • Spenser
      She soundly slept, and careful thoughts did quite assoil.

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