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definitions

ash

1
[ash]
See more synonyms for ash on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the powdery residue of matter that remains after burning.
  2. Also called volcanic ash. Geology. finely pulverized lava thrown out by a volcano in eruption.
  3. a light, silvery-gray color.
  4. ashes,
    1. deathlike grayness; extreme pallor suggestive of death.
    2. ruins, especially the residue of something destroyed; remains; vestiges: the ashes of their love; the ashes of the past.
    3. mortal remains, especially the physical or corporeal body as liable to decay.
    4. anything, as an act, gesture, speech, or feeling, that is symbolic of penance, regret, remorse, or the like.

Origin of ash

1
before 950; Middle English a(i)sshe, Old English asce, æsce; cognate with Frisian esk, Dutch asch, Old Norse, Old High German aska (German Asche), Gothic azgo < Germanic *askōn- (with Goth unexplained); akin to Latin ārēre be dry (see arid), Tocharian ās- get dry, Sanskrit ā́sa- ashes, Hittite hassi on the hearth; < Indo-European *HaHs-
Related formsash·i·ness, nounash·less, adjective

ash

2
[ash]
noun
  1. any of various trees of the genus Fraxinus, of the olive family, especially F. excelsior, of Europe and Asia, or F. americana (white ash), of North America, having opposite, pinnate leaves and purplish flowers in small clusters.
  2. the tough, straight-grained wood of any of these trees, valued as timber.
  3. Also æsc. the symbol “æ.”

Origin of ash

2
before 900; Middle English asshe, Old English æsc; cognate with Frisian esk, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch asch, Old Saxon, Old High German asc (German Esche, with altered vowel from the adj. derivative eschen, Middle High German eschîn), Old Norse askr; akin to Latin ornus, Welsh onnen, Russian yásenʾ, Czech jasan, Lithuanian úosis, Armenian hatsʰi; Albanian ah beech; < Indo-European *Hoes-
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for ash

powder, soot, dust, slag, charcoal, cinders, remains, rubble, debris, remnants, relics, ruins

Examples from the Web for ash

Contemporary Examples of ash

Historical Examples of ash

  • The sword shall belong to him who can draw it from the ash tree's heart.

  • For ash, however, the actual character 'æ' represents the long vowel.

    Beowulf

    Unknown

  • A stick parted and fell into ash, and Miss Susan came awake.

    Tiverton Tales

    Alice Brown

  • Being tired, they lay down under an ash tree and fell asleep.

    Classic Myths

    Mary Catherine Judd

  • Athens,—except for that sparkle,—thy name, I had moldered to ash!

British Dictionary definitions for ash

ash

1
noun
  1. the nonvolatile products and residue formed when matter is burnt
  2. any of certain compounds formed by burningSee soda ash
  3. fine particles of lava thrown out by an erupting volcano
  4. a light silvery grey colour, often with a brownish tinge
See also ashes
Related formsRelated adjective: cinereous

Word Origin for ash

Old English æsce; related to Old Norse, Old High German aska, Gothic azgō, Latin aridus dry

ash

2
noun
  1. any oleaceous tree of the genus Fraxinus, esp F. excelsior of Europe and Asia, having compound leaves, clusters of small greenish flowers, and winged seeds
  2. the close-grained durable wood of any of these trees, used for tool handles, etc
  3. any of several trees resembling the ash, such as the mountain ash
  4. Australian any of several Australian trees resembling the ash, esp of the eucalyptus genus

Word Origin for ash

Old English æsc; related to Old Norse askr, Old Saxon, Old High German ask, Lithuanian uosis

ash

3
noun
  1. the digraph æ, as in Old English, representing a front vowel approximately like that of the a in Modern English hat. The character is also used to represent this sound in the International Phonetic Alphabet

ASH

n acronym for (in Britain)
  1. Action on Smoking and Health
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for ash
n.1

"powdery remains of fire," Old English æsce "ash," from Proto-Germanic *askon (cf. Old Norse and Swedish aska, Old High German asca, German asche, Gothic azgo "ashes"), from PIE root *as- "to burn, glow" (cf. Sanskrit asah "ashes, dust," Armenian azazem "I dry up," Greek azein "to dry up, parch," Latin ardus "parched, dry"). Spanish and Portuguese ascua "red-hot coal" are Germanic loan-words.

Symbol of grief or repentance; hence Ash Wednesday (c.1300), from custom introduced by Pope Gregory the Great of sprinkling ashes on the heads of penitents on the first day of Lent. Ashes meaning "mortal remains of a person" is late 13c., in reference to the ancient custom of cremation.

n.2

type of tree, Old English æsc "ash tree," also "spear made of ash wood," from Proto-Germanic *askaz, *askiz (cf. Old Norse askr, Old Saxon ask, Middle Dutch esce, German Esche), from PIE root *os- "ash tree" (cf. Armenian haci "ash tree," Albanian ah "beech," Greek oxya "beech," Latin ornus "wild mountain ash," Russian jasen, Lithuanian uosis "ash"). Ash was the preferred wood for spear-shafts, so Old English æsc sometimes meant "spear" (cf. æsc-here "company armed with spears").

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper