essay
noun /ˈɛseɪ 
/
/1A short piece of writing on a particular subject.Apart from the novels, Sundara Ramaswamy has written several short stories and essays on literary criticism....
- That might be the inevitable price of writing short essays.
- He began writing plays, essays, short stories and then film scripts declaring that he planned to devote his life to art as a force for social change.
Synonyms
article, piece of writing, composition, study, paper, dissertation, assignment, thesis, discourse, treatise, text, tract, disquisition, monograph;
leader, commentary, critique, criticism, exposition, appraisal, assessment, discussion;
North American theme
informal piece
2 formal An attempt or effort: a misjudged essay in job preservation...
- Tourism at its best is an attempt, an essay, and not all essays are trivial.
Synonyms
attempt, effort, endeavour, try, venture, trial, experiment, undertaking
informal crack, go, shot, stab, bash, whack
2.1A trial design of a postage stamp yet to be accepted.He had a beautiful collection of essays and proofs, obtained largely from the designers and engravers with whom he was intimately acquainted....
- The Prince Consort essay shown here can be regarded as the forerunner of later Victorian stamps.
verb /ɛˈseɪ / [with object] formal
/ [with object] formalAttempt or try: Donald essayed a smile...
- The newsreader forced a glassy smile and essayed a limp defence.
- The Socialist Party alone seems to be essaying a relatively sophisticated campaign, and taking the trouble to tell voters who its candidates are.
- For any sportsperson, the point of contact in essaying a stroke is the moment of joy.
Synonyms
attempt, make an attempt at, try, strive, aim, venture, endeavour, seek, set out, do one's best, do all one can, do one's utmost, make an effort, make every effort, spare no effort, give one's all, take it on oneself;
have a go at, undertake, embark on, try one's hand at, try out, take on
informal give it a whirl, give it one's best shot, go all out, pull out all the stops, bend over backwards, knock oneself out, bust a gut, break one's neck, move heaven and earth, have a crack at, have a shot at, have a stab at
Origin
Late 15th century (as a verb in the sense 'test the quality of'): alteration of assay, by association with Old French essayer, based on late Latin exagium 'weighing', from the base of exigere 'ascertain, weigh'; the noun (late 16th century) is from Old French essai 'trial'.
Essay is a variant of assay (Middle English) ‘try, test’, going back to Latin exigere ‘ascertain, weigh’. In writing contexts, it referred initially to ‘a first draft’ but came to mean ‘a composition’. This use seems to have been taken from the French philosopher and essayist Montaigne (1533–92) whose Essais were first published in 1580.