Meaning of 'as' shapes statutory and contractual interpretation, indicating manner, capacity, similarity, temporality, or contingency. Meaning of the word 'as' affects interpretation by supplying sense from context and grammatical role. It may indicate manner, similarity, role or capacity, temporality, contingency, or comparative likeness, and its precise import depends on how it functions in the phrase, including use as prefix, suffix, adverb or preposition, requiring resolution by reference to immediate context and grammatical function.