assess: [15] The literal meaning of Latin assidēre, ultimate source of assess, was ‘sit beside someone’ (it was a compound verb formed from the prefix ad- ‘near’ and sedēre ‘sit’, a relative of English sit). This developed the secondary meaning ‘sit next to a judge and assist him in his deliberations’ (which lies behind English assize), and in medieval Latin the sense passed from helping the judge to performing his functions, particularly in fixing the amount of a fine or tax to be paid.
Hence English assess, which came via Old French assesser from Latin assess-, the past participial stem of assidēre. (The Latin adjective assiduus, formed from assidēre in the sense ‘apply oneself to something’, gave English assiduous [16].) => assiduous, assize, session, sit, size
assess (v.)
early 15c., "to fix the amount (of a tax, fine, etc.)," from Anglo-French assesser, from Medieval Latin assessare "fix a tax upon," originally frequentative of Latin assessus "a sitting by," past participle of assidere "to sit beside" (and thus to assist in the office of a judge), from ad- "to" (see ad-) + sedere "to sit" (see sedentary). One of the judge's assistant's jobs was to fix the amount of a fine or tax. Meaning "to estimate the value of property for the purpose of taxing it" is from 1809; transferred sense of "to judge the value of a person, idea, etc." is from 1934. Related: Assessed; assessing.
双语例句
1. We know some sex offenders dupe the psychologists who assess them.
我们知道有些性犯罪者会愚弄给他们做测评的心理学家。
来自柯林斯例句
2. She suggests you first assess your income and outgoings.
她建议你先估算一下自己的收入和开销。
来自柯林斯例句
3. The college has few ways to assess the quality of education overall.
总体看来,这所大学评估教育质量的方法寥寥无几.
来自柯林斯例句
4. It's impossible to assess how many officers are participating in the slowdown.
要估算出究竟多少高级职员参与了怠工是不可能的。
来自柯林斯例句
5. As an adult, you can assess the situation realistically.