essaier

Old French

Alternative forms

assaier (Anglo-Norman)

Etymology

From essai (“an attempt”), from Latin exagium (“a weighing”), from exigere (“test”).

Verb

essaier

to try; to make an effort

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

Conjugation of essaier (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		essaier			avoir essaié
gerund		en essaiant			gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle		essaiant
past participle		essaié
person		singular			plural
person		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	il	nos	vos	il
simple tenses	present	essai	essaies	essaie	essaions	essaiez	essaient
	imperfect	essaioie, essaieie, essaioe, essaieve	essaioies, essaieies, essaioes, essaieves	essaioit, essaieit, essaiot, essaieve	essaiiiens, essaiiens	essaiiiez, essaiiez	essaioient, essaieient, essaioent, essaievent
	preterite	essaiai	essaias	essaia	essaiames	essaiastes	essaierent
	future	essaierai	essaieras	essaiera	essaierons	essaieroiz, essaiereiz, essaierez	essaieront
	conditional	essaieroie, essaiereie	essaieroies, essaiereies	essaieroit, essaiereit	essaieriiens, essaieriens	essaieriiez, essaieriez	essaieroient, essaiereient
compound tenses	present perfect	present tense of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	preterite tense of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future tense of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que jo	que tu	qu’il	que nos	que vos	qu’il
simple tenses	present	essai	essais	essait	essaions	essaiez	essaient
simple tenses	imperfect	essaiasse	essaiasses	essaiast	essaiissons, essaiissiens	essaiissoiz, essaiissez, essaiissiez	essaiassent
compound tenses	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
compound tenses	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
imperative		—	essaie	—	essaions	essaiez	—

Related terms

essai

Descendants

French: essayer
→ Middle English: assayen, assaien, assaie, assay, assaye, asay, asaye, asayn, a-say, saie, sayen, saye
- English: assay, say
- Scots: say, sey