| 释义 |
essay
essaytry; subject to a test; a short literary composition: She wrote an essay for her final exam.
Not to be confused with:assay – an analysis of a substance, esp. of an ore or drug: His find required an assay to determine its value.es·say E0216400 (ĕs′ā′, ĕ-sā′)n.1. (ĕs′ā′)a. A short literary composition on a single subject, usually presenting the personal view of the author.b. Something resembling such a composition: a photojournalistic essay.2. A testing or trial of the value or nature of a thing: an essay of the students' capabilities.3. An initial attempt or endeavor, especially a tentative attempt.tr.v. (ĕ-sā′, ĕs′ā′) es·sayed, es·say·ing, es·says 1. To make an attempt at; try.2. To subject to a test.
[French essai, trial, attempt, from Old French, from essayer, to attempt, from Vulgar Latin *exagiāre, to weigh out, from Late Latin exagium, a weighing : Latin ex-, ex- + Latin agere, to drive; see ag- in Indo-European roots. V., from Middle English assaien, from Old French assaer, assaier, variant of essayer.]
es·say′er n.essay n 1. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) a short literary composition dealing with a subject analytically or speculatively 2. an attempt or endeavour; effort 3. a test or trial vb (tr) 4. to attempt or endeavour; try5. to test or try out [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 investigate]es•say (n. ˈɛs eɪ or, for 3,5, ɛˈseɪ; v. ɛˈseɪ)
n. 1. a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usu. in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative. 2. anything resembling such a composition: a picture essay. 3. an effort to perform or accomplish something; attempt. v.t. 4. to try; attempt. 5. to put to the test; make trial of. [1475–85; < Middle French essayer, c. Anglo-French assayer to assay< Vulgar Latin *exagiāre, v. derivative of Late Latin exagium a weighing =*exag(ere), for Latin exigere to examine, test] es•say′er, n. essay
Past participle: essayed
Gerund: essaying
| Present |
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| I essay | | you essay | | he/she/it essays | | we essay | | you essay | | they essay |
| Preterite |
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| I essayed | | you essayed | | he/she/it essayed | | we essayed | | you essayed | | they essayed |
| Present Continuous |
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| I am essaying | | you are essaying | | he/she/it is essaying | | we are essaying | | you are essaying | | they are essaying |
| Present Perfect |
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| I have essayed | | you have essayed | | he/she/it has essayed | | we have essayed | | you have essayed | | they have essayed |
| Past Continuous |
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| I was essaying | | you were essaying | | he/she/it was essaying | | we were essaying | | you were essaying | | they were essaying |
| Past Perfect |
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| I had essayed | | you had essayed | | he/she/it had essayed | | we had essayed | | you had essayed | | they had essayed |
| Future |
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| I will essay | | you will essay | | he/she/it will essay | | we will essay | | you will essay | | they will essay |
| Future Perfect |
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| I will have essayed | | you will have essayed | | he/she/it will have essayed | | we will have essayed | | you will have essayed | | they will have essayed |
| Future Continuous |
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| I will be essaying | | you will be essaying | | he/she/it will be essaying | | we will be essaying | | you will be essaying | | they will be essaying |
| Present Perfect Continuous |
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| I have been essaying | | you have been essaying | | he/she/it has been essaying | | we have been essaying | | you have been essaying | | they have been essaying |
| Future Perfect Continuous |
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| I will have been essaying | | you will have been essaying | | he/she/it will have been essaying | | we will have been essaying | | you will have been essaying | | they will have been essaying |
| Past Perfect Continuous |
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| I had been essaying | | you had been essaying | | he/she/it had been essaying | | we had been essaying | | you had been essaying | | they had been essaying |
| Conditional |
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| I would essay | | you would essay | | he/she/it would essay | | we would essay | | you would essay | | they would essay |
| Past Conditional |
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| I would have essayed | | you would have essayed | | he/she/it would have essayed | | we would have essayed | | you would have essayed | | they would have essayed |
essayA prose composition on a particular subject.Thesaurus| Noun | 1. |  essay - an analytic or interpretive literary compositionpiece of writing, written material, writing - the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect); "the writing in her novels is excellent"; "that editorial was a fine piece of writing"paper, theme, report, composition - an essay (especially one written as an assignment); "he got an A on his composition"disquisition - an elaborate analytical or explanatory essay or discussionmemoir - an essay on a scientific or scholarly topicthanatopsis - an essay expressing a view on the subject of death | | 2. | essay - a tentative attemptattempt, effort, try, endeavor, endeavour - earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try" | | Verb | 1. |  essay - make an effort or attempt; "He tried to shake off his fears"; "The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps"; "The police attempted to stop the thief"; "He sought to improve himself"; "She always seeks to do good in the world"attempt, try, assay, seekpick up the gauntlet, take a dare - be dared to do something and attempt itact, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"struggle, fight - make a strenuous or labored effort; "She struggled for years to survive without welfare"; "He fought for breath"have a go, give it a try - make an attempt at something; "I never sat on a horse before but I'll give it a go"grope - search blindly or uncertainly; "His mind groped to make the connection"endeavor, endeavour, strive - attempt by employing effort; "we endeavor to make our customers happy"give it a try, give it a whirl - try; "let's give it a whirl!"adventure, gamble, run a risk, take a chance, take chances, risk, chance, hazard - take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome; "When you buy these stocks you are gambling"lay on the line, put on the line, risk - expose to a chance of loss or damage; "We risked losing a lot of money in this venture"; "Why risk your life?"; "She laid her job on the line when she told the boss that he was wrong" | | 2. |  essay - put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to; "This approach has been tried with good results"; "Test this recipe"test, try out, try, examine, provepass judgment, evaluate, judge - form a critical opinion of; "I cannot judge some works of modern art"; "How do you evaluate this grant proposal?" "We shouldn't pass judgment on other people"verify, control - check or regulate (a scientific experiment) by conducting a parallel experiment or comparing with another standard; "Are you controlling for the temperature?"float - circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with; "The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform"field-test - test something under the conditions under which it will actually be used; "The Army field tested the new tanks" |
essaynoun1. composition, study, paper, article, piece, assignment, discourse, tract, treatise, dissertation, disquisition, SA (S.M.S.) He was asked to write an essay about his home town.2. (Formal) attempt, go (informal), try, effort, shot (informal), trial, struggle, bid, test, experiment, crack (informal), venture, undertaking, stab (informal), endeavour, exertion His first essay in running a company was a disaster.verb1. (Formal) attempt, try, test, take on, undertake, strive for, endeavour, have a go at, try out, have a shot at (informal), have a crack at (informal), have a bash at (informal) He essayed a smile, but it was a dismal failure.essaynoun1. A relatively brief discourse written especially as an exercise:composition, paper, theme.2. A procedure that ascertains effectiveness, value, proper function, or other quality:assay, proof, test, trial, tryout.3. A trying to do or make something:attempt, crack, effort, endeavor, go, offer, stab, trial, try.Informal: shot.Slang: take.Archaic: assay.verb1. To make an attempt to do or make:assay, attempt, endeavor, seek, strive, try.Idioms: have a go at, have a shot at, have a whack at, make a stab at, take a crack at.2. To subject to a procedure that ascertains effectiveness, value, proper function, or other quality:assay, check, examine, prove, test, try, try out.Idioms: bring to the test, make trial of, put to the proof.Translationsessay (ˈesei) noun a written composition; a piece of written prose. The examination consists of four essays; Write an essay on/about your holiday. 隨筆 随笔essay
essay, relatively short literary composition in prose, in which a writer discusses a topic, usually restricted in scope, or tries to persuade the reader to accept a particular point of view. Although such classical authors as Theophrastus, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, and Plutarch wrote essays, the term essai was first applied to the form in 1580 by Montaigne, one of the greatest essayists of all time, to his pieces on friendship, love, death, and morality. In England the term was inaugurated in 1597 by Francis Bacon, who wrote shrewd meditations on civil and moral wisdom. Montaigne and Bacon, in fact, illustrate the two distinct kinds of essay—the informal and the formal. The informal essay is personal, intimate, relaxed, conversational, and frequently humorous. Some of the greatest exponents of the informal essay are Jonathan Swift, Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, Thomas De Quincey, Mark Twain, James Thurber, and E. B. White. The formal essay is dogmatic, impersonal, systematic, and expository. Significant writers of this type include Joseph Addison, Samuel Johnson, Matthew Arnold, John Stuart Mill, J. H. Newman, Walter Pater, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau. In the latter half of the 20th cent. the formal essay has become more diversified in subject and less stately in tone and language, and the sharp division between the two forms has tended to disappear. Bibliography See studies by L. Fiedler, ed. (2d ed. 1969), C. Sanders et al. (1970), A. J. Butrym, ed. (1990). Essay a prose work of moderate length and unconstrained style expressing the author’s personal impressions and observations on a specific topic or question, without claiming to be a definitive or exhaustive treatment of the subject. As a rule the essay proposes a novel and subjective view of something—whether it is an essay in philosophy, history, biography, current affairs, literary criticism, or popular science or whether it is of a purely literary nature. Stylistically, the essay’s distinctive features are its descriptive imagery, its aphoristic quality, and its conversational tone and vocabulary. The essay style has long been used in works where the author’s personality is in the foreground; for example, it was used by Plato, by the followers of Isocrates, and by Origen, Tertullian, Meister Eckhart, and Luther. A genre analogous to the European essay was developed in the East by such writers as Han Yü (eighth to ninth centuries, China) and Kamo Chomei (13th century, Japan). The essay came into its own as a literary genre with the publication of Montaigne’s Essays (1580). Equally spontaneous and whimsical are the sermons of John Donne, with their paradoxically solemn tone. N. de Malebranche’s meditations and B. Fontenelle’s popular-science discourses are likewise infused with essayistic elements. The first English essayist was the metaphysical poet A. Cowley (1618–67), author of Several Discourses by Way of Essays. The essays of J. Dryden marked the beginning of English literary criticism. In the 18th and 19th centuries the essay was one of the leading genres in French and English journalism. Important contributions to its development were made by J. Addison, R. Steele, H. Fielding, S. Johnson, Diderot, Voltaire, Lessing, and Herder. The essay was the predominant form used by the romantics—specifically, by Heine, Emerson, and Thoreau—in their polemical writings on philosophy and aesthetics. It was in English literature that the essay sank its deepest roots, as exemplified in the work of T. Carlyle, W. Hazlitt, and M. Arnold in the 19th century and M. Beerbohm, H. Belloc, and G. K. Chesterton in the 20th. In the best of their work, they improvise a covert dialogue with the general reader. The essay has flourished in the 20th century; prominent prose writers, poets, and philosophers have turned to this genre in order to popularize the achievements of the natural sciences and humanities and to reach various types of readers. Among such writers are R. Rolland, G. B. Shaw, H. G. Wells, H. Mann, T. Mann, J. Becher, A. Maurois, and J.-P. Sartre. The essay is not a characteristic genre of Russian or Soviet literature; nevertheless, examples of essayistic writing can be found in A. S. Pushkin (“A Journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg”), A. I. Herzen (From the Other Shore), and F. M. Dostoevsky (The Diary of a Writer). In the early 20th century the essay form was employed by V. Ivanov, D. Merezhkovskii, A. Belyi, L. Shestov, and V. Rozanov. Soviet writers who have produced work in this genre include I. Ehrenburg, Iu. Olesha, V. Shklovskii, and K. Paustovskii. In the 1970’s the most productive branch of essay writing has been that of literary criticism. REFERENCESWalker, H. The English Essay and Essayists. New Delhi, 1966.
Priestley, J. B. Essayists, Past and Present. London, 1967.
Champigny, R. Pour une Esthétique de l’essai. Paris, 1967.V. S. MURAVEV essay a short literary composition dealing with a subject analytically or speculatively essay
Synonyms for essaynoun compositionSynonyms- composition
- study
- paper
- article
- piece
- assignment
- discourse
- tract
- treatise
- dissertation
- disquisition
- SA
noun attemptSynonyms- attempt
- go
- try
- effort
- shot
- trial
- struggle
- bid
- test
- experiment
- crack
- venture
- undertaking
- stab
- endeavour
- exertion
verb attemptSynonyms- attempt
- try
- test
- take on
- undertake
- strive for
- endeavour
- have a go at
- try out
- have a shot at
- have a crack at
- have a bash at
Synonyms for essaynoun a relatively brief discourse written especially as an exerciseSynonymsnoun a procedure that ascertains effectiveness, value, proper function, or other qualitySynonyms- assay
- proof
- test
- trial
- tryout
noun a trying to do or make somethingSynonyms- attempt
- crack
- effort
- endeavor
- go
- offer
- stab
- trial
- try
- shot
- take
- assay
verb to make an attempt to do or makeSynonyms- assay
- attempt
- endeavor
- seek
- strive
- try
verb to subject to a procedure that ascertains effectiveness, value, proper function, or other qualitySynonyms- assay
- check
- examine
- prove
- test
- try
- try out
Synonyms for essaynoun an analytic or interpretive literary compositionRelated Words- piece of writing
- written material
- writing
- paper
- theme
- report
- composition
- disquisition
- memoir
- thanatopsis
noun a tentative attemptRelated Words- attempt
- effort
- try
- endeavor
- endeavour
verb make an effort or attemptSynonymsRelated Words- pick up the gauntlet
- take a dare
- act
- move
- struggle
- fight
- have a go
- give it a try
- grope
- endeavor
- endeavour
- strive
- give it a whirl
- adventure
- gamble
- run a risk
- take a chance
- take chances
- risk
- chance
- hazard
- lay on the line
- put on the line
verb put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use toSynonyms- test
- try out
- try
- examine
- prove
Related Words- pass judgment
- evaluate
- judge
- verify
- control
- float
- field-test
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