n.a specially made, highly sensitive
instrument used for weighing extremely small amounts of
matter. Assaying is the
analysis of a substance by weighing, measuring, calculating, etc., so as to
determine the proportions of some valuable or potent
constituent, such as a metal contained in an
ore or a chemical substance in a pharmaceutical.
a sensitive balance (
scale) used in the
analysis of
gold,
silver and other precious metals.