assai

[ uh-sahy; Italian ahs-sah-ee ]

/ əˈsaɪ; Italian ɑsˈsɑ i /

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adverb Music.

very: allegro assai (very quick).

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Origin of assai

First recorded in 1715–25; from Italian: literally, “enough,”ultimately from Latin ad “(up) to” + satis “enough.” See asset

Words nearby assai

as regards, ass, Assad, Assad, Hafez al-, assagai, assai, assail, assailant, assalamu alaikum, Assam, Assamese

Other definitions for assai (2 of 2)

assai²

[ uh-sah-ee ]

/ əˈsɑ i /

noun

any of several slender Brazilian palms of the genus Euterpe, especially E. edulis, a species bearing a purple fruit from which a beverage is made by infusion.

Origin of assai

1895–1900; <Portuguese <Tupi assaí

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use assai in a sentence

Caterina answered him by quoting the Cyprian proverb, "Assai dimanda che fidelmente serve."
The Royal Pawn of Venice|Mrs. Lawrence Turnbull
Certainly, it was painted by my own father, six months after their marriage; she was then as you see, una bella giovanne assai.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, No. 383, September 1847|Various
Il tradimento a molti piace assai, Ma il traditore a gnun non piacque mal.
Romola|George Eliot
Maffeo Barberini; ma assai maggiore è la nostra, che il Cav.
Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3)|S. Spooner

The assai-palm, with its slender stem, its graceful head and delicate green plumes, is at first more numerous than any other.
The Western World|W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for assai (1 of 2)

assai¹

/ (æˈsaɪ) /

adverb

music (usually preceded by a musical direction) veryallegro assai

Word Origin for assai

Italian: enough

British Dictionary definitions for assai (2 of 2)

assai²

/ (æˈsaɪ) /

noun

any of several Brazilian palm trees of the genus Euterpe, esp E. edulis, that have small dark purple fleshy edible fruit

a beverage made from the fruit of this tree

Word Origin for assai

via Brazilian Portuguese from Tupi

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