essay
Definitions
noun
- a short literary composition dealing with a subject analytically or speculatively
- an attempt or endeavour; effort
- a test or trial
verb
(tr)- to attempt or endeavour; try
- to test or try out
Word Origin
C15: from Old French essaier to attempt, from essai an attempt, from Late Latin exagium a weighing, from Latin agere to do, compel, influenced by exigere to investigateSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
composition,
study,
paper,
article,
piece,
assignment,
discourse,
tract,
treatise,
dissertation,
disquisition,
SA,
Translations
- British English:
essay
An essay is a piece of writing on a particular subject....an essay on Art history.ˈɛseɪ NOUN ...an essay on Art history. - Spanish:
ensayo
nm
- French:
dissertation
nf
- German:
Aufsatz
nm Aufsätze
- Chinese: 短文 n
- Arabic: مَقال n
- Portuguese: dissertação nf
- Russian: эссе nnt
- Croatian: esej nm
- Czech: esej nm
- Danish: essay nnt
- Dutch: essay nnt
- Finnish: essee n
- Greek: δοκίμιο nnt
- Italian: componimento nm
- Japanese: エッセイ n
- Korean: 수필 n
- Norwegian: essay nnt
- Polish: esej nm
- Brazilian Portuguese: dissertação nf
- European Spanish:
ensayo
nm
- Swedish: uppsats nutr
- Thai: เรียงความ n
- Turkish: deneme n
- Vietnamese: bài luận n
Usage examples
Brooke-Taylor had a woman with him when I delivered my essay on Friday.
, MUSIC FOR BOYS (2003)Robert McLaughlin's winning essay will be published in the 31 October issue.
New Scientist (1998)Almost completely empty, pure white and boldly non-functional, it is an essay on the little-known art of making space.
Globe and Mail (2003)His first published work, in 1993, was a pictorial essay on British skinheads.
Glasgow Herald (2001)He did a bit of rewriting and published the essay in the July 1945 edition of Atlantic Monthly under the title "As We May Think.
, DOT.CON (2001)