ash meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

ash

noun

/ˈæʃ/ · [ˈæʃ]

Etymology

From Middle English aisshe, asche, ash, asshe, axe, eshe, esk, from Old English acse, asċe, axe, axse, æsċe, from Proto-West Germanic *askā, from Proto-Germanic *askǭ (“ash”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- (“to be dry; to burn; hearth; ashes”). Cognates Cognate with Yola ashen, oaskean (“ashes”), Saterland Frisian Ääske (“ash”), West Frisian jiske (“ash”), Alemannic German Äsche (“ash”), Cimbrian èssa (“ash”), Dutch as, asch (“ash”), German Asche (“ash”), Limburgish Aïsch, Aïsche, Äsch (“ash; grayling”), Luxembourgish Äsch (“ash”), Vilamovian oś, oš (“ash”), Yiddish אַש (ash, “ash”), Danish aske (“ash”), Faroese øska (“ash, ashes”), Icelandic and Swedish aska (“ash”), Norwegian Bokmål aske (“ash”), Norwegian Nynorsk oske (“ash”), Gothic 𐌰𐌶𐌲𐍉 (azgō, “ash; cinder”); Breton and Cornish ster (“stars”), Welsh sêr (“stars”), Latin āreō (“to be dry or parched; to be dried up or withered”), Greek αστέρας (astéras), αστέρι (astéri), άστρο (ástro, “star”), Armenian աստուճ (astuč), աշտուճ (aštuč, “dry (of bread)”), Avestan 𐬯𐬙𐬀𐬭 (star, “star”), Baluchi استار (astár / istár), استال (istál, “star”), Central Kurdish ئەستێرە (estêre, “star”), Northern Kurdish stêr (“star”), Ossetian стъалы (st’aly, “star”), Pashto ستوری (stóray, “star”), Persian سِتَارَه (setāra / sitâre, “star; destiny, fate; spark”), Hittite 𒄩𒀸𒊭𒀀𒀸 (ḫa-aš-ša-a-aš, “fireplace, hearth”), Ashkun istã́ (“star”), Tocharian A āştär (“pure”), Tocharian B astare (“pure”), Sanskrit आस (āsa, “ashes; dust”). The rare plural axen is from Middle English axen, axnen, from Old English axan, asċan (“ashes”) (plural of Old English axe, æsċe (“ash”)).

8 senses

1Solid remains of a fire.
2The nonaqueous remains of a material subjected to any…
3Fine particles from a volcano, volcanic ash.
4Human (or animal) remains after cremation.
5Mortal remains in general.
6What remains after a catastrophe.
7A gray color, similar to that of the remains of a fire.
8The resultant remaining more stable patterns that emerge…

Solid remains of a fire.

The audience was more captivated by the growing ash at the end of his cigarette than by his words.
Ash from a fireplace can restore minerals to your garden's soil.

3 more examples

Ashes from the fire floated over the street.
Ash from the fire floated over the street.
The family collected the ashes after burning the body.

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences The nonaqueous remains of a material subjected to any complete oxidation process.

Fine particles from a volcano, volcanic ash.

In plural Human (or animal) remains after cremation.

The urn containing his ashes was eventually removed to a closet.

Archaic, In plural Mortal remains in general.

Napoleon’s ashes are not yet extinguished, and we’re breathing in their sparks.

Figuratively What remains after a catastrophe.

Now, it's Haiti that needs help to rebuild and rise from the ashes [of an earthquake].2010 May 6, Jean-Claude Laguerre, “Haiti Will Rise From the Ashes”, in The Epoch Times:

A gray color, similar to that of the remains of a fire.

Cellular automata, Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences The resultant remaining more stable patterns that emerge from the evolution of a soup or a similarly random pattern.

Synonyms: cremains
Derived terms: 58 terms
acid-ash, ashbin, ash blond, ash-blond, ash blonde, ash-blonde, ash bread, ashcake, ash cake, ashcan, ash cash, ash-colored, ash-coloured, ashdump, ashen, ashery, ashfall, ashfield, ashflow, ash gourd, ash gray, ash grey, ash-heap, ash-heap-cake, ash heap of history, ash-hole, ashhole, ash-hopper, ashless, ashlike, ashman, Ash Monday, ashpan, ash pan, ash pit, ashpit, ash pumpkin, ash-red, ash stand, ash-throated crake, ashtray, Ash Wednesday, ashweed, ashy, bone ash, deash, flash the ash, fly ash, lime-ash, pearl ash, pearlash, pearl-ash, potash, satinash, soda ash, the Ashes, ultramarine ash, volcanic ash

ash

verb

Etymology

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Ambitransitive To reduce to a residue of ash. See ashing.

I dried the extracted leather very slowly on the steam bath […] until the substance was dry enough to ash. […] I think that the discrepancy in the percentages of "total ash" by method No. 2 and No. 6 is due to this excessive heat required to ash the leather […]1919, Harry Gordon, Total Soluble and Insoluble Ash in Leather, published in the Journal of the American Leather Chemists Association, W. K. Alsop and W. A. Fox, eds, volume XIV, number 1, on page 253
The inorganic material left after ashing lung tissue specimens not only contains inhaled particles but also very large quantities of inorganic residue derived from the tissue itself.1981, Hans Weill, Margaret Turner-Warwick, and Claude Lenfant, eds, Occupational Lung Diseases: Research Approaches and Methods, Lung Biology in Health and disease, volume 18, page 203

2 more examples

Ash and silica contents of the plant material were determined by classical gravimetric techniques. Tissue samples were ashed in platinum crucibles at about 500 °C, and the ash was treated repeatedly with 6 N hydrochloric acid to remove other mineral impurities.1989?, Annals of Botany, volume 64, issues 4-6, page 397
A 10-g food sample was dried, then ashed, and analyzed for salt (NaCl) content by the Mohr titration method (AgNO₃ + Cl → AgCl). The weight of the dried sample was 2g, and the ashed sample weight was 0.5g.2010, S. Suzanne Nielsen, ed, Food Analysis, fourth edition, Chapter 12, "Traditional Methods for Mineral Analysis", page 213

Australia, Ambitransitive To hit the end off (a burning cigar or cigarette).

"Nonsense," Mrs. Gardiner challenged, ashing her cigarette.1936, F.J. Thwaites, The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards Publishing, published 1940, page 62:
He realized that he was standing staring at her and he sat down quickly, making a business of ashing his cigarette.1961, Kenneth Cook, Wake in Fright, published 1988, page ii. 52:

2 more examples

Hamilton ashed his cigar, and studied the end of it for some moments without speaking.1978, C.J. Koch, The Year of Living Dangerously, published 1986, page 35:
‘He’s right, you know,’ said Archie earnestly, ashing a fag in an empty curry bowl.2000, Zadie Smith, White Teeth, London: Penguin Books, published 2001, →ISBN, page 242:

Christianity To mark (someone) with an ashen cross on the forehead to observe Ash Wednesday.

Chiefly passive voice

Obsolete To cover newly-sown fields of crops with ashes.

Chiefly passive voice

Last spring, after I planted, I took what ashes I have saved during the last year, and put on my corn […] . On harvesting I cut up the two rows which were not ashed (or twenty rods of them,) and set them apart from the others in stouts; and then I cut up two rows of the same length, on each side, which had been ashed, […]1847, H., Ashes on Corn.---An Experiment, published in the Genesee Farmer, volume 8, page 281
After the corn was planted, upon acre A, I spread broadcast one hundred bushels of lime, (cost $3) and fifty bushels of ashes, (cost $6.) […] The extra crop of the combination over the limed acre or ashed, was paid by the increased crop, […]1849, in a letter to James Higgins, published in 1850 in The American Farmer, volume V, number 7, pages 227-8

ash

noun

Etymology

From Middle English aissh, asch, asche, ashe, assche, assh, asshe, esch, haish, from Old English æsċ, from Proto-West Germanic *ask, from Proto-Germanic *askaz (“ash”), from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃s- (“ash”). Cognates Cognate with Scots aish (“ash”), North Frisian eskebuum (“ash”), West Frisian esk (“ash”), Cimbrian ess (“ash”), Dutch es (“ash”), German Esche (“ash”), Limburgish èsj (“ash”), Luxembourgish Esch (“ash”), Yiddish אַשבוים (ashboym, “ash”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish ask (“ash”), Faroese ask, askur (“ash”), Icelandic askur (“ash”); also Welsh onn, ynn (“ash”), Latin ornus (“rowan”), Greek οξιά (oxiá, “beech; wood”), Albanian ah (“beech”), Latgalian ūss (“ash”), Latvian osis (“ash”), Lithuanian uosis (“ash”), Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian я́сень (jásenʹ, “ash”), Bulgarian я́сен (jásen, “ash”), Czech jasan (“ash”), Macedonian јасен (jasen, “ash”), Polish jasion, jesion (“ash”), Serbo-Croatian ја̏се̄н, jȁsēn (“ash”), Slovak jaseň (“ash”), Slovene jésen (“ash”), Armenian հացի (hacʻi, “ash”).

A shade tree of the genus Fraxinus.

The ash trees are dying off due to emerald ash borer.
The woods planted in ash will see a different mix of species.

Any tree of certain species of other genera.

The wood of this tree.

English soldiers handled sturdy bows of yew, ash, or elm, which could propel an iron-tipped arrow as far as a hundred yards.1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 155:

The traditional name for the ae ligature (æ), as used in Old English.

Derived terms: 84 terms
Afghan ash, American ash, Arizona ash, Ash Fork, ash-leaf maple, ash-leaved maple, Biltmore ash, black ash, blue ash, blueberry ash, Bunge's ash, California ash, Cape ash, Carolina ash, Caucasian ash, Chihuahua ash, Chinese ash Korean ash, Claret ash, claret ash, common ash, crow's ash, European ash, flowering ash, fragrant ash, Goodding's ash, green ash, Gregg's ash, Griffith's ash, Himalayan manna ash, Illawarra ash, Japanese ash, Japanese flowering ash, Korean ash, Lowell ash, Manchurian ash, manna ash, Mexican ash, Modesto ash, Moreton Bay ash, mountain ash, Mountain Ash, narrow-leafed ash, narrow-leaf ash, Oregon ash, Pallis' ash, poison ash, prickly ash, pumpkin ash, raywood ash, red ash, river ash, Shamel ash, singleleaf ash, Späth's ash, stinking ash, Texas ash, tropical ash, two-petal ash, velvet ash, water ash, weeping ash, white ash, yellow ash, ash borer, Ashbrook, ash dieback, Ash Flat, Ashford, ash grove, ash-leaf, Ashleigh, Ashley, ashling, ashplant, ash weevil, ashwood, Barkston Ash, clash of the ash, Eight Ash Green, Five Ashes, Four Ashes, Knotty Ash, Nash, world-ash

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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Conjugation of “ash”, all tenses