as

I. adverb Etymology: Middle English, from Old English eallswā likewise, just as — more at also Date: before 12th century 1. to the same degree or amount <

as soft as silk

> <

twice as long

> 2. for instance <

various trees, as oak or pine

> 3. when considered in a specified form or relation — usually used before a preposition or a participle <

my opinion as distinguished from his

> II. conjunction Date: 12th century 1. as if <

looks as he had seen a ghost — S. T. Coleridge

> 2. in or to the same degree in which <

soft as silk

> — usually used as a correlative after an adjective or adverb modified by adverbial as or so <

as cool as a cucumber

> 3. in the way or manner that <

do as I do

> 4. in accordance with what or the way in which <

quite good as boys go

> 5. while, when <

spilled the milk as she got up

> 6. regardless of the degree to which ; though <

improbable as it seems, it's true

> 7. for the reason that ; because, since <

stayed home as she had no car

> 8. that the result is <

so clearly guilty as to leave no doubt

> Usage: see like III. pronoun Date: 12th century 1. that, who, which — used after same or such <

in the same building as my brother

> <

tears such as angels weep — John Milton

> and chiefly dialect after a substantive not modified by same or such <

that kind of fruit as maids call medlars — Shakespeare

> 2. a fact that <

is a foreigner, as is evident from his accent

> IV. preposition Date: 13th century 1. a. like 2 <

all rose as one man

> b. like 1a <

his face was as a mask — Max Beerbohm

> 2. in the capacity, character, condition, or role of <

works as an editor

> V. noun (plural asses) Etymology: Latin Date: 1540 1. a. a bronze coin of the ancient Roman republic b. a unit of value equivalent to an as coin 2. libra 2a