英汉词典

essay 基本解释

• n. 散文；试图；随笔
• vt. 尝试；对…做试验

essay 词态变化

essay 中文词源

来自拉丁语exigere, 尝试，测试，来自ex-, 向外，ig-, 做，尝试，词源同agent. 英国学者弗朗西斯·培根用该词命名一种新的写作文体。assay为其拼写异体词，但词义发生了变化。

essay 英文词源

essay

essay: [15] Essay and assay [14] are fundamentally the same word, and only began to diverge in the 15th century. Both come via Old French assaier from Vulgar Latin *exagiāre ‘weigh out’, a verb derived from late Latin exagium ‘weighing’; this in turn was formed from the Latin verb exigere ‘weigh’ (source of English exact and examine).

Accordingly, both originally had underlying connotations of ‘testing by weighing’. But while these have become more concrete in assay ‘analyse precious metals’, essay has, under the influence of French essayer, gone down the more metaphorical route from ‘test’ to ‘try’. The verb now survives only in fairly formal use, but the noun is much more frequent, owing to its application to a ‘short nonfictional literary composition’.

It was first used thus in English by Francis Bacon in 1597 as the title of a collection of such pieces, and it is generally assumed that he borrowed the idea from the Essais of Montaigne, published in 1580.
=> assay, exact, examine

essay (n.)

1590s, "trial, attempt, endeavor," also "short, discursive literary composition" (first attested in writings of Francis Bacon, probably in imitation of Montaigne), from Middle French essai "trial, attempt, essay" (in Old French from 12c.), from Late Latin exagium "a weighing, a weight," from Latin exigere "drive out; require, exact; examine, try, test," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + agere (see act (n.)) apparently meaning here "to weigh." The suggestion is of unpolished writing. Compare assay, also examine.

essay (v.)

"to put to proof, test the mettle of," late 15c., from Middle French essaier, from essai "trial, attempt" (see essay (n.)). This sense has mostly gone with the divergent spelling assay. Meaning "to attempt" is from 1640s. Related: Essayed; essaying.

essay 英文释义

1. an analytic or interpretive literary composition

2. a tentative attempt

essay 同义词解析

composition, article, essay, paper, prose, thesis, theme, dissertation

这些名词均含"文章，论文"之意。

composition： 多指学校里老师给学生的作文练习。

article： 多指在报刊、杂志上发表的非文艺性的文章，包括新闻报导、学术论文等。

essay： 指任何一种非小说性的，篇幅不长、结构简练的文章，如论说文、报道、评论、讽刺性杂文等。

paper： 正式用词，多指在学术刊物上发表或在学术会议上宣读的专题论文，也指高等学校的学期论文，或学校里的作文练习。

prose： 专指散文。

thesis： 既可指毕业论文、学位论文，又可指一般的为阐述学术观点而写的论文。

theme： 一般指大学或高中生作为作业所写的篇幅有限、较完整论述某个观点的文章。也可指作品或谈话的主要论题。

dissertation： 书面语用词，指独立研究后所写的较为详细的专题文章；也可指学位论文。

essay 双语例句

1. This was a troubling essay on the anatomy of nationhood.

这是一篇剖析民族主义的让人不安的文章。

来自柯林斯例句

2. His first essay in running a company was a notoriously tough undertaking.

众所周知，他第一次尝试经营公司时十分艰难。

来自柯林斯例句

3. The points you make are fine, but the whole essay lacks coherence.

你提出的论点很好，但整篇文章缺乏呼应连贯。

来自《权威词典》

4. Reading this essay was an elevating experience.

阅读这篇短文很有启发。

来自《权威词典》

5. an essay on the causes of the First World War

关于第一次世界大战起因的文章

来自《权威词典》

essay 实用场景例句

His first essay in politics was a complete disaster.

他初次涉足政坛便碰得头破血流。

牛津词典

an essay on the causes of the First World War

关于第一次世界大战起因的文章

牛津词典

We asked Jason to write an essay about his hometown and about his place in it.

我们让贾森写一篇有关他的家乡和他自己的家的短文。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

...Thomas Malthus's essay on population.

托马斯·马尔萨斯有关人口的论文

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Sinclair essayed a smile but it could hardly have been rated as a success.

辛克莱想试着微笑一下，但根本没有笑出来。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

I can decide nothing until I have consulted my wife.

我没有跟太太商量过,什么都不能决定.

期刊摘选

Here's the essay for you to look over.

这篇文章请你过目[过一下目].

《现代汉英综合大词典》

The matter in your essay is excellent but the style is deplorable.

你的文章内容不错,但是文体很糟.

《现代英汉综合大词典》

There is a large crop of mistakes in your essay.

你的文章中错误百出.

《现代英汉综合大词典》

He was writing his essay when, all of a sudden, he was seized with giddiness.

他正在写论文, 突然一阵头晕.

《简明英汉词典》

After being touched up, the essay reads more smoothly.

稿子经过这样一改,念起来就顺口多了.

《现代汉英综合大词典》

He's now revising the first draft of his essay.

他目前正修改他的文章初稿.

《现代汉英综合大词典》

The essay is most penetrating and powerful.

这篇杂文极为深刻有力.

《现代汉英综合大词典》

There is much food for thought in this essay.

这篇杂文中有不少发人深思的东西.

《现代汉英综合大词典》

I inadvertently passed this essay by.

我漫不经心地把这篇散文忽略过去了.

《简明英汉词典》

This is a thoughtful essay.

这是一篇具有思想性的随笔.

《简明英汉词典》

She needs the discipline of having to write an essay every week.

她需要进行每周写一篇文章的训练.

《简明英汉词典》

Cut out the paragraph unnecessary for the essay.

删掉论文中不必要的段落.

《现代汉英综合大词典》

The essay treats of the progress in cancer research.

这篇文章讲述了癌症研究的进展情况.

《简明英汉词典》

He threaded several causal ideas into a charming essay.

他把几段有关因果的概念穿插在一篇引人入胜的文章中.

《简明英汉词典》

I wrote tortuous essay for obscure journals.

我给一些无名杂志写一些拐弯抹角的文章.

《简明英汉词典》

Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.

由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分.

《现代英汉综合大词典》

This essay needs polishing.

这篇文章还得顺一顺.

《现代汉英综合大词典》

The essay was pithily written.

文章写得很简洁.

《现代汉英综合大词典》

It's an essay heavy with surplus phrasing.

这是篇废话连篇的散文.

《简明英汉词典》

In writing an essay one must do a lot of pruning.

写文章要下一番剪裁的工夫.

《现代汉英综合大词典》

This essay is so short that it can only scratch the surface of the topic.

这篇文章很短,只能对这一问题作肤浅的探讨.

《简明英汉词典》

The matter in your essay is good but the style is deplorable.

你文章的内容很好,但是体裁太糟糕了.

《简明英汉词典》

The points you make are fine, but the whole essay lacks coherence.

你提出的论点很好，但整篇文章缺乏呼应连贯。

《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》

Reading this essay was an elevating experience.

阅读这篇短文很有启发。

《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》