essai
French
Etymology
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
- IPA(key): /e.sɛ/, /ɛ.sɛ/
audio (file)
Noun
essai m (plural essais)
- try, trial
- Il a gagné après plusieurs essais. ― He won after numerous tries.
- Synonym: tentative
- assay
- (rugby) try
- Elle a marqué son deuxième essai du match. ― She's scored her second try of the match.
- 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)
Related terms
Further reading
- “essai” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Old French
Etymology
From Late Latin exagium, from Latin exigō.
Noun
essai m (oblique plural essais, nominative singular essais, nominative plural essai)
- trial (task of considerable difficulty)
Related terms
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