French

edit

Etymology

edit

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.

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /e.sɛ/, /ɛ.sɛ/ ~ /e.sɛ/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

edit

essai m (plural essais)

  1. try, trial
    Il a gagné après plusieurs essais.He won after numerous tries.
    Synonym: tentative
  2. assay
  3. (rugby) try
    Elle a marqué son deuxième essai du match.She's scored her second try of the match.
  4. essay, composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject
    Un essai est un livre pour faire des livres; il ne peut passer pour bon qu'en raison du nombre de fétus d'ouvrages qu'il renferme. (Chateaubr., Essai Révol., t. 2, 1797)

Derived terms

edit
edit

Further reading

edit

Anagrams

edit

Old French

edit

Etymology

edit

From Late Latin exagium, from Latin exigō.

Noun

edit

essai oblique singularm (oblique plural essais, nominative singular essais, nominative plural essai)

  1. trial (task of considerable difficulty)
edit

Descendants

edit
  • Anglo Norman: assai
    • English: assay
  • Middle French: essai