ash

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
: any of a genus (Fraxinus) of trees of the olive family with pinnate leaves, thin furrowed bark, and gray branchlets
2
: the tough elastic wood of an ash
3
[Old English æsc, name of the corresponding runic letter] : the ligature æ used in Old English and some phonetic alphabets to represent a low front vowel \a\

Illustration of ash

Illustration of ash
  • 1ash 1

ash

2 of 3

noun (2)

often attributive
1
: something that symbolizes grief, repentance, or humiliation
2
a
: the solid residue left when combustible material is thoroughly burned or is oxidized by chemical means
b
: fine particles of mineral matter from a volcanic vent
3
ashes plural : the remains of the dead human body after cremation or disintegration
4
ashes plural : deathly pallor
the lip of ashes and the cheek of flameLord Byron
5
ashes plural : ruins
ashless adjective

ash

3 of 3

verb

ashed; ashing; ashes

transitive verb

1
technical : to convert into ash
The insoluble resid fractions are ashed at 800°C to constant weight.Joseph Haggin
2
: to remove ash residue from (something, such as a cigarette) usually by flicking or tapping
She ashed her cigarette onto a patch of dirt floor, then handed it to me.Dominic Smith
3
: to apply ash to : to coat with ashes
The rules that once governed the way the game was played had been burnt to the ground, and the earth was salted and ashed for good measure.Ani Bundel
It's a cow's milk soft cheese that's ashed on the outside. (It's kind of like a goth brie.)Erin Edwards

Examples of ash in a Sentence

Noun (2) a new and more splendid city was built on the ashes of the old
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The air district has encouraged residents to take precautions to protect themselves from dangerous levels of air pollution, including remaining indoors and keeping windows closed as wildfires have released large plumes of smoke and ash, which continue to hover over nearby communities. Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2024 Friedman spearheaded and bankrolled the Vesuvius Challenge, which prompted computer scientists to try to decode Roman scrolls that were buried under 20 meters of ash and mud when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago. Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 5 Sep. 2024 With a removable ash pan that easily lifts out and a wide range of accessories for cooking, entertaining, and safety, this pit is easy to clean and genuinely fun to use. Sara Coughlin, SELF, 20 Sep. 2024 Eco Material Technologies, a company previously featured in this column, was formed when the MIT spinout Green Cement merged with the ash mining firm Boral Resources in a 2022 deal worth $755 million. Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ash 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ash.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English asshe, from Old English æsc; akin to Old High German ask ash, Latin ornus mountain ash

Noun (2)

Middle English, usually as plural asshen, askes, axen, ashes, going back to Old English axe, asce (feminine weak noun), going back to Germanic *askōn- (whence also Old Saxon asc-, in ascal "ash-colored," Old High German asca, ascha "ash," Old Norse aska) beside apparent *azgō in Gothic azgo "ash," both of uncertain origin

Note: The older handbooks see the Germanic etymon as a "root extension" of a verbal base *ā̌s- "burn," in current laryngealist terms *h1eh2s-,*h2h̥1s- "make dry through heat" ("[durch Hitze] vertrocknen" in Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben)—see etymology and note at arid. The discrepancy between West and North Germanic ask- (from *azg-?) and Gothic azg- (from *azgh-?) is variously explained. E. Seebold (Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 22. Auflage) regards the velar extension as a suffix of appurtenance, the ashes being in effect "what belongs to the hearth/fire." (Also of relevance would be Armenian azazim "become dry, wither," if from *h2h̥1s-gh- —see H. Martirosyan, Etymologial Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon, Brill, 2010 s.v.) Seebold sees the "ash" words with long vowels (Hittite ḫāšš- "ashes, dust," Sanskrit ā́saḥ) as parallel derivations, in this case by the employment of lengthened grade. The inconvenient Gothic word azgo is explained as the outcome of a suffixed verbal derivative *haz-d-ko- (on the verbal derivative see azalea). Departing completely from the root-extension hypotheses, G. Kroonen (Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Brill, 2013) sees the Germanic word as a possible compound of Indo-European *h2ed- "dry up" and *dhegwh- "burn."

Verb

derivative of ash entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1655, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of ash was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near ash

Cite this Entry

“Ash.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ash. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

ash

1 of 2 noun
1
: any of a genus of trees related to the olive and having bark with grooves and ridges and winged seeds
2
: the hard strong wood of an ash

ash

2 of 2 noun
1
a
: the solid that remains after material is thoroughly burned or is oxidized by chemical means
b
: fine particles of mineral matter from a volcanic vent
2
plural : the remains of something destroyed : ruins
3
plural : the remains of the dead human body especially after cremation
Etymology

Noun

Old English æsc "ash tree"

Noun

Old English asce "the remains of something burned"

Medical Definition

ash

noun
often attributive
1
: the solid residue left when combustible material is thoroughly burned or is oxidized by chemical means
2
ashes plural : the remains of the dead human body after cremation or disintegration

More from Merriam-Webster on ash

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