different between essaying vs tentative

English

Verb

essaying

1. present participle of essay

Noun

essaying (plural essayings)

1. An attempt; a try.
   • a. 1858, Charles Boner, Mother and Child

     The dialogue most sweet
     Is a glad mother's converse with her child,
     When first he makes his essayings at speech.

English

Etymology

French tentatif, from Latin tentativus (“trying, testing”), from tento, past participle tentatus (“to try, test”); see tent, tempt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?nt?t?v/
• Hyphenation: ten?ta?tive

Noun

tentative (plural tentatives)

1. A trial; an experiment; an attempt.

Adjective

tentative (comparative more tentative, superlative most tentative)

1. Of or pertaining to a trial or trials; essaying; experimental.
2. Uncertain; subject to future change.

Derived terms

• tentativeness
• tentatively

Antonyms

• (subject to future change): conclusive, definitive, certain

Translations

Further reading

• tentative in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• tentative in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• attentive

French

Etymology

From Medieval Latin tent?t?va, from tent? (“to attempt”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t??.ta.tiv/

Noun

tentative f (plural tentatives)

1. attempt, try, effort

   Synonym: essai

Related terms

• tenter

Further reading

• “tentative” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

tentative

1. inflection of tentativ:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular