essai

== 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 ==== ballon d'essai banc d'essai coup d'essai essai de pénalité tube à essai ==== Related terms ==== essayer ==== Descendants ==== → Bulgarian: есе́ (esé) Haitian Creole: esè → Russian: эссе́ (essé) (see there for further descendants) → Swedish: essä (see there for further descendants) → Ukrainian: есе́ (esé) === Further reading === “essai”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 === Anagrams === aises, aisés == 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) ==== Related terms ==== essaier ==== Descendants ==== Anglo Norman: assai → English: assay Middle French: essai French: essai → English: essay