Masculine

essai

Meaning

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

Frequency

B2
Pronounced as (IPA)
/e.sɛ/
Etymology

In summary

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.

Notes

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