example
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English example from Old French essample (French: exemple) from Latin exemplum (“‘literally what is taken out (as a sample), a sample, pattern, specimen, copy for imitation, etc.’”) from eximō (“‘take out’”) from ex (“‘out’”) + emō (“‘buy; acquire’”); see exempt. Cf. ensample, sample, exemplar. Displaced native Middle English bisne, forbusen, forbus "example, model, template, exemplar" (from Old English bīsen, forebīsen, forebȳsen "example, model, template, exemplar") and Middle English byspel "example, proverb" (from Old English bīspel).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
example (plural examples)
- Something that is representative of all such things in a group.
- Something that serves to illustrate or explain a rule.
- Something that serves as a pattern of behaviour to be imitated (a good example) or not to be imitated (a bad example).
- 1818, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, Chapter 4:
- Learn from me, if not by my precepts, then at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, […]
- 1818, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, Chapter 4:
- A person punished as a warning to others.
- A parallel or closely similar case, especially when serving as a precedent or model.
- An instance (as a problem to be solved) serving to illustrate the rule or precept or to act as an exercise in the application of the rule.
[edit] Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:model
- See also Wikisaurus:exemplar
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
something representative of a group
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something serving to explain or illustrate a rule
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something serving as a pattern of behaviour
person punished as a warning to others
parallel or closely similar case
instance as a problem to be solved
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- example in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- example in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
