Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - essay

 I. transitive verb  Date: 14th century  1. to put to a test  2. to make an often tentative or experimental effort to perform ; try  Synonyms: see attempt  • ~er noun  II. noun  Etymology: Middle French essai, ultimately from Late Latin exagium act of weighing, from Latin ex- + agere to drive — more at agent  Date: 14th century  1. trial, test  2.  a. effort, attempt; especially an initial tentative effort  b. the result or product of an attempt  3.  a. an analytic or interpretative literary composition usually dealing with its subject from a limited or personal point of view  b. something resembling such a composition a photographic ~  4. a proof of an unaccepted design for a stamp or piece of paper money