essay
See also: Essay
English
Etymology 1
From Middle French essai.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈɛˌseɪ/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛseɪ
Noun
essay (plural essays)
- (authorship) 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.”
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- (obsolete) A test, experiment; an assay.
- (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.
- 1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford 2003, p. 455:
- (philately, finance) A proposed design for a postage stamp or a banknote.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
written composition
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an attempt
Etymology 2
From Middle French essayer.
Verb
essay (third-person singular simple present essays, present participle essaying, simple past and past participle essayed)
- (dated, transitive) To try.
- 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter II, in The House Behind the Cedars:
- He retraced his steps to the front gate, which he essayed to open.
-
- (intransitive) To move forth, as into battle.
Translations
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
Borrowed from English essay, from Middle French essai.
Noun
essay n (definite singular essayet, indefinite plural essay or essayer, definite plural essaya or essayene)
- an essay, a written composition of moderate length exploring a particular subject
Derived terms
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
Borrowed from English essay, from Middle French essai.
Noun
essay n (definite singular essayet, indefinite plural essay, definite plural essaya)
- an essay, a written composition of moderate length exploring a particular subject
Derived terms
References
- “essay” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
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