Anglo-Fr. and Eng. variant of OF. es-:—L. ex- ‘out,’ as in as-cape, a(s)s-aumple, as-sart, a(s)s-ay, as-chew, as-soin, as-tonish. In some words this form is still retained; in others it has been altered back to OF. es-, as in escape, essay, eschew, or L. ex-, as in example; in others the a- has been lost by aphesis, as in scape, sample.
