essai

Signification

1. try, trial
2. assay
3. try
4. essay, composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject

Genre

♂️ Masculin

Prononcé comme (IPA)

/e.sɛ/

Étymologie

Inherited from Middle French, from Old French essai, from Late Latin exagium (“weighing”), hence English assay (compare also Spanish ensayo), from Latin exigō; the original sense of "trial" (if the gold is good) drifted towards a general meaning of "attempt". The literary meaning is given by Michel de Montaigne's masterpiece.