Example

How to spell example

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce example

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does example mean?

1. nounA thing characteristic of its kind, or one that illustrates a general rule.

Example in a sentence

• The report includes one clear example from each department.

• This case is a textbook example of poor planning.

Where does example come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin exemplum, meaning 'a sample' or 'something taken out to be shown', which was built from eximere, 'to take out', combining ex- 'out' with emere 'to take or buy'. The idea was of selecting one specimen out of a larger group so that it could stand for the rest. English borrowed the word in the 1300s through Old French essample, and the spelling later drifted back toward the Latin form, giving the modern ex- opening. The same emere root surfaces in everyday words like 'exempt' and 'redeem', both of which also play on the idea of taking or buying. Because the second half is pronounced like the unrelated word 'sample', the silent journey from exemplum is a useful reminder that the middle is -amp-, not -emp-.

How the word is built

• ex- (out)
• ample (from emere: to take); literally 'something taken out' as a sample