example
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English example < Old French essample (French: exemple) < Latin exemplum (“‘literally what is taken out (as a sample), a sample, pattern, specimen, copy for imitation, etc.’”) < eximere (“‘to take out’”) < ex (“‘out’”) + emere (“‘to buy’”); see exempt. Cf. ensample, sample, exemplar.
[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).
- "Learn from me, if not by my precepts, then at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge" - Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
- 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
something serving to explain or illustrate a rule
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
