One who essays; a person who attempts something or who writes essays.
From Old French essayer (to try) plus the agent suffix -er. Less common than essayist, but preserves the original meaning of 'one who tries.'
An 'essayer' is technically someone who tries things—which makes every person in your science class experimenting with new ideas an essayer, long before they ever write a paper!
The masculine form 'essayer' reflects gendered language patterns in Romance languages where agent nouns were historically marked as masculine defaults, with feminine forms added secondarily if at all.
Use 'essayer' gender-neutrally in modern English, or specify 'essayist' for clarity. Consider 'essayist' as the modern inclusive standard.
["essayist","essay writer","practitioner"]
Women essayists have contributed significantly to literary criticism and experimental prose since the 16th century (Montaigne's contemporaries onward), though often published under male pseudonyms or faced publication barriers.
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