assai

¹ American  

[uh-sahy, ahs-sah-ee] / əˈsaɪ, ɑsˈsɑ i /

adverb

Music.

1. very.

   allegro assai (very quick).

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assai ² American  

[uh-sah-ee] / əˈsɑ i /

noun

1. 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.

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assai ¹ British  

/ æˈsaɪ /

noun

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

2. a beverage made from the fruit of this tree

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assai ² British  

/ æˈsaɪ /

adverb

1. music (usually preceded by a musical direction) very

   allegro assai

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Etymology

Origin of assai¹

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

Origin of assai²

1895–1900; < Portuguese < Tupi assaí

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

assai

In his subsequent additions he caught the name of Sir Philip Sidney with an adventurous criticism, “le sue poesie assai buone.”

From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 3 by Disraeli, Isaac

The fruits of this sort are smaller than the true assai, but a drink is also made from them which some people consider more delicious than that either of the assai or patawa.

From The Forest Exiles The Perils of a Peruvian Family in the Wilds of the Amazon by Weir, Harrison

Selecting an "assai" palm of about nine inches diameter, across the creek, I took steady aim and fired four bullets.

From In the Amazon Jungle Adventures in Remote Parts of the Upper Amazon River, Including a Sojourn Among Cannibal Indians by Lange, Algot

"Certainly, it was painted by my own father, six months after their marriage; she was then as you see, una bella giovanne assai."

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, No. 383, September 1847 by Various

Their animal food consisted chiefly of young birds, lizards, tree-frogs, and grubs; and their vegetable food, of some plums and other fruits, and the inside leaves of the assai palm, and various nuts.

From The Wanderers Adventures in the Wilds of Trinidad and Orinoco by Perat