# assign
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English assignen, from Old French assigner, asigner, from Latin assignō, from ad- + signō (“mark, sign”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /əˈsaɪn/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Hyphenation: as‧sign
* Rhymes: -aɪn

### Verb

assign (third-person singular simple present assigns, present participle assigning, simple past and past participle assigned)
* (transitive) To designate or set apart (something) for some purpose.
    to assign a day for trial
* (transitive) To appoint or select (someone) for some office.
    to assign counsel for a prisoner
* (transitive) To allot or give (something) as a task.
** 1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More: Or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society, volume I, London: John Murray, page 210:“I cannot do it, Sir !” was his reply. “I fire into their ranks, and that does as well ; but to single out one among them, and mark him for death, would lie upon my mind afterwards.” The man who could feel thus was worthy of a better station than that in which his lot had been assigned.
** 1857, William Hickling Prescott, “War with France”, in History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, new edition, volume I, London: G. Routledge & Co., page 116:He assigned his men to their several posts, talked boldly of maintaining himself against all the troops of Spain, and by his cheerful tone endeavoured to inspire a confidence in others which he was far from feeling himself.
** 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:Captain Edward Carlisle […] felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, […]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.
* (transitive) To attribute or sort (something) into categories.
** (LGBTQ) To categorize (someone) as belonging to the male or female sex.
* (transitive, law) To transfer (property, a legal right, etc.) from one person to another.
* (transitive, programming) To give (a value) to a variable.
    We assign 100 to x.

#### Synonyms

* (set apart something for some purpose): allocate, earmark; see also Thesaurus:set apart
* (transfer property): consign, convey; see also Thesaurus:transfer

#### Derived terms

* assignability
* assignor
* misassign
* nonassigned
* preassign
* preassigned
* reassign
* unassign
* unassigned

#### Translations

Arabic: تعيين شخص لعمل ما
Azerbaijani: müəyyən etmək
Bulgarian: определям (bg) (opredeljam), предназначавам (bg) (prednaznačavam)
Cebuano: asayn
Chinese:
Cantonese: 指定 (zi$^2$ ding$^6$)
Czech: přiřadit, přidělit
Egyptian: (jp)
Esperanto: asigni
Finnish: valita (fi), määrätä (fi), nimittää (fi)
French: désigner (fr)
Galician: asignar
German: zuweisen (de), zuteilen (de)
Hindi: निर्दिष्ट (hi) (nirdiṣṭ)
Hungarian: (to select) kijelöl (hu), kiválaszt (hu), (to determine) megszab (hu), megállapít (hu), meghatároz (hu)
Ido: asignar (io)
Italian: assegnare (it), accantonare (it)
Japanese: 割り当てる (ja) (wariateru)
Khiamniungan Naga: thòilùoh
Maori: kopou, pare
Polish: wyznaczać (pl) impf, wyznaczyć (pl) pf, asygnować impf (money, literary), wyasygnować pf (money, literary)
Portuguese: designar (pt), atribuir (pt)
Romanian: atribui (ro), destina (ro)
Russian: назнача́ть (ru) impf (naznačátʹ), назна́чить (ru) pf (naznáčitʹ), определя́ть (ru) impf (opredeljátʹ), определи́ть (ru) pf (opredelítʹ)
Sardinian:
Logudorese: assinzare
Sassarese: assignà
Spanish: asignar (es)
Ukrainian: призначати (pryznačaty), визначати (vyznačaty)
Urdu: سَون٘پْنا (sa͠upnā) :
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Noun

assign (plural assigns)
* An assignee.
** 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave I. Marley’s Ghost.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 2:Scrooge knew he was dead ? Of course he did. How could it be otherwise ? Scrooge and he were partners for I don’t know how many years. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend and his sole mourner.
* (obsolete) A thing relating or belonging to something else; an appurtenance.
** c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:The King ſir hath wagerd with him ſix Barbary horſes, againgſt the which hee has impaund as I take it ſix French Rapiers and Poynards, with their aſſignes, as girdle, hanger and ſo.
* (obsolete) An assignment or appointment.
* (obsolete) A design or purpose.
** 1609, John Ford, “Fame's Memorial: An Elegy upon the Earl of Devonshire”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 9:He aim’d at high designs, and so attain’d / The high assigns to which his spirit aim’d.