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assoil

American  
[uh-soil] / əˈsɔɪl /

verb (used with object)

Archaic.
  1. to absolve; acquit; pardon.

  2. to atone for.


assoil British  
/ əˈsɔɪl /

verb

  1. to absolve; set free

  2. to atone for

"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

Other Word Forms

  • assoilment noun

Etymology

Origin of assoil

1250–1300; Middle English asoilen < Anglo-French asoiler, Old French asoilier, variant of asoldre < Latin absolvere to absolve

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

What harm if men who burn the midnight-oil,   Weary of frame, and worn and wan of feature, Seek once a week their spirits to assoil,   And snatch a glimpse of "Animated Nature?"

From The Humorous Poetry of the English Language; from Chaucer to Saxe by Parton, James

She is a jolly compagnon de voyage, had been thrice to Jerusalem, and is now seeking assoil for some little sins at Canterbury.

From English Literature, Considered as an Interpreter of English History Designed as a Manual of Instruction by Coppee, Henry

And then he kneeled down on his knee, and prayed the Bishop to shrive him and assoil him.

From Le Mort d'Arthur: Volume 2 by Malory, Thomas, Sir

Say to toil: Nor to seek to leave the tending of thy vines, For all the heat of the day, till it declines, And death's mild curfew shall from work assoil.

From The Optimist's Good Morning by Perin, Florence Hobart

Then said Sir Reginald: But if thou assoil not the King and all other standing in the curse it shall cost thee thy life.

From England of My Heart : Spring by Hutton, Edward