What does "essay" mean?
Essay: (Lit.) A composition treating of any particular subject; -- usually shorter and less methodical than a formal, finished treatise; as, an essay on the life and writings of Homer; an essay on fossils, or on commerce.
Additional senses
- 2.An assay. See Assay, n. [Obs.]
- 3.To exert one's power or faculties upon; to make an effort to perform; to attempt; to endeavor; to make experiment or trial of; to try. What marvel if I thus essay to sing Byron. Essaying nothing she can not perform. Emerson. A danger lest the young enthusiast . . . should essay the impossible. J. C. Shairp.
- 4.To test the value and purity of (metals); to assay. See Assay. [Obs.] Locke.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00