essay
The origin and history of essay.
Etymology
From French essai, "an attempt" or "a trial" — the writer Montaigne coined the modern literary sense in the late 1500s when he called his own writings "essais," meaning tries or attempts at exploring an idea.
Class of 1500
essay first entered the language around 1500. Other words from the same year:
See the full Class of 1500 →