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essai. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
essai, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
essai in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
essai you have here. The definition of the word
essai will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
essai, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
French
Etymology
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
- IPA(key): /e.sɛ/, /ɛ.sɛ/ ~ /e.sɛ/
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)
Derived terms
Further reading
Anagrams
Old French
Etymology
From Late Latin exagium, from Latin exigō.
Noun
essai oblique singular, m (oblique plural essais, nominative singular essais, nominative plural essai)
- trial (task of considerable difficulty)
Descendants