ex-

out, away; also thoroughly

Forms

ex-
e- — Shortened in Latin before certain consonants.
ef- — Used before f in Latin.
es- — Developed from ex- in French.
s- — In some French borrowings, es- lost its initial e.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *eghs, ‘out.’

Note

The outward sense could extend to carrying an action through completely.

83 / 239

noun

essay

ESS-ay/ˈeseɪ/

A short piece of writing about a subject.

The writer composes a short essay at the desk.

Adult writer composes a short focused essay at desk on one sheet with abstract paragraph strokes; no readable words.

Etymology

esLatinout, away; also thoroughly

+sayLatindrive, set in motion; do

“Out” and “drive” combine in exigere, meaning “examine, try, test,” apparently here in the sense “weigh.” Through “weighing” and then “trial” or “attempt,” essay came to suggest a short, exploratory piece of writing.

In context

TED4:47

using your college application essay to discuss your trauma actually doesn't help you process it. And there are a couple different reasons why. First, writing about a difficult experience is, as you may have guessed, difficult.

The Rise of the "Trauma Essay" in College Applications | Tina Yong | TED

More examples

He revised the essay before submitting it.
The book contains several short essays.
A personal essay opened the collection.

Forms

essay · essays

essayist noun — a writer of essays

Similar words

composition: A piece of written work.
article: A nonfiction piece, often for publication.