Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Essay

Es′say

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Essays
(#)
.
[F.
essai
, fr. L.
exagium
a weighing, weight, balance;
ex
out +
agere
to drive, do; cf.
examen
,
exagmen
, a means of weighing, a weighing, the tongue of a balance,
exigere
to drive out, examine, weigh, Gr.
ἐξάγιον
a weight,
ἐξαγιάζειν
to examine,
ἐξάγειν
to drive out, export. See
Agent
, and cf.
Exact
,
Examine
,
Assay
.]
1.
An effort made, or exertion of body or mind, for the performance of anything; a trial; attempt;
as, to make an
essay
to benefit a friend
.
“The essay at organization.”
M. Arnold.
2.
(Lit.)
A composition treating of any particular subject; – usually shorter and less methodical than a formal, finished treatise;
as, an
essay
on the life and writings of Homer; an
essay
on fossils, or on commerce.
Syn. – Attempt; trial; endeavor; effort; tract; treatise; dissertation; disquisition.

Es-say′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Essayed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Essaying
.]
[F.
essayer
. See
Essay
,
Noun.
]
1.
To exert one’s power or faculties upon; to make an effort to perform; to attempt; to endeavor; to make experiment or trial of; to try.
What marvel if I thus
essay
to sing?
Byron.
Essaying
nothing she can not perform.
Emerson.
A danger lest the young enthusiast . . . should
essay
the impossible.
J. C. Shairp.
2.
To test the value and purity of (metals); to assay. See
Assay
.
[Obs.]
Locke.

Webster 1828 Edition

Essay

ESSA'Y

,
Verb.
T.
[L. sequor. See Seek. The radical sense is to press, drive, urge, strain, strive.]
1.
To try; to attempt; to endeavor; to exert one's power or faculties, or to make an effort to perform any thing.
While I this unexampled task essay.
2.
To make experiment of.
3.
To try the value and purity of metals. In this application, the word is now more generally written assay, which see.

Definition 2024

Essay

Essay

See also: essay

German

Noun

Essay m

  1. essay, usually on scientific, cultural or sociological subjects for publication in a newspaper or magazine

See also

  • Aufsatz (umbrella term for all sorts of essays)

essay

essay

See also: Essay

English

Noun

essay ‎(plural essays)

  1. A written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject.
    • 2013 January 1, Katie L. Burke, “Ecological Dependency”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 1, page 64:
      In his first book since the 2008 essay collection Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature, David Quammen looks at the natural world from yet another angle: the search for the next human pandemic, what epidemiologists call “the next big one.”
  2. (obsolete) A test, experiment; an assay.
  3. (now rare) An attempt.
    • 1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford 2003, p. 455:
      This was Lee's first essay in the kind of offensive-defensive strategy that was to become his hallmark.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

essay ‎(third-person singular simple present essays, present participle essaying, simple past and past participle essayed)

  1. (dated, transitive) To try.
    • 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter II,
      He retraced his steps to the front gate, which he essayed to open.
  2. (intransitive) To move forth, as into battle.

Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle French essai.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɛseɪ

Similar Results