essayismn.
/ˈɛseɪɪz(ə)m/ 1.
a. The practice of writing essays.
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > essay > [noun] > writing essays
essayism1821
essaying1861
1821 New Monthly Mag. 2 301 Cant is the epidemic of periodical essayism.
1822 New Monthly Mag. 5 141 My talents..were..frittered in periodical writing and common-place essayism.
b. The quality that constitutes an ‘essay’.
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > essay > [noun] > writing essays > quality
essayism1887
1887 Sat. Rev. 24 Sept. 412 That mysterious literary essence known as essayism which pervades all literature.
2. About 1862 occasionally used for: The theological doctrines taught in the book called Essays and Reviews.
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1862 Lit. Churchm. VIII. 4/1 A medium between Essayism and Evangelicism.
1862 Lit. Churchm. VIII. 458/1 If Essayism has been effectually rebuked.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1821