/ˈeseɪ/
1
- a short piece of writing on a particular subject论说文; 散文, 随笔, 小品文。
2
- formal an attempt or effort〈正式〉企图; 尝试：
a misjudged essay in job preservation.
被人误判的保留工作的尝试。
2.1
- a trial design of a postage stamp yet to be accepted尚未采用的邮票设计图案。
词源
late 15th cent. （as a verb in the sense 'test the quality of'）： alteration of ASSAY, by association with Old French essayer, based on late Latin exagium 'weighing', from the base of exigere 'ascertain, weigh'; the noun （late 16th cent.） is from Old French essai 'trial'.