Example
/ɪɡˈzɑːm.pəl/noun
A thing characteristic of its kind or illustrating a general rule.
Did you know?Example comes from Latin *exemplum*, originally a “sample” or “pattern,” from *eximere* meaning “to take out,” so the word’s oldest magic is the power of extraction and imitation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*em-
“to take, buy, or exchange”
Latin
Latin
eximere
“to take out, remove, take away”
Latin
Latin
exemplum
“a sample, specimen, pattern, model”
Old French
Old French
essample
“an example, model, pattern”
Middle English
English
example
“a model, instance, or case used to illustrate something”
Modern English
English
example
“a thing characteristic of its kind or illustrating a general rule”