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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Essay \Es"say\, noun; pl. {Essays}. [F. essai, fr. L. exagium a weighing, weight, balance; ex out + agere to drive, do; cf. examen, exagmen, a means of weighing, a weighing, the tongue of a balance, exigere to drive out, examine, weigh, Gr. 'exa'gion a weight, 'exagia'zein to examine, 'exa'gein to drive out, export. See {Agent}, and cf. {Exact}, {Examine}, {Assay}.]
1. An effort made, or exertion of body or mind, for the performance of anything; a trial; attempt; as, to make an essay to benefit a friend. ''The essay at organization.'' --M. Arnold.
2. (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.
3. An assay. See {Assay}, noun [Obs.]
Syn: Attempt; trial; endeavor; effort; tract; treatise; dissertation; disquisition.
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