As*sess"ment (&?;), n.
[LL. assessamentum.]
1. The act of
assessing; the act of determining an amount to be
paid; as, an
assessment of
damages, or of taxes; an assessment of the members of
a club.
2. A valuation of property or profits of business, for the purpose of taxation; such valuation and an adjudging of the proper sum to be levied
on the property; as, an assessment of property or an assessment on property.
&fist;
An assessment is a valuation made by authorized persons according to their discretion, as opposed to a sum certain or determined by law. It is a valuation of the property of those who
are to pay the tax, for the purpose of fixing the
proportion which each man shall pay. Blackstone.
Burrill.
3. The specific sum levied or assessed.
4. An apportionment of a subscription for stock into successive installments; also, one of these installments (in England
termed a "call"). [U. S.]
Hear it pronounced