Where does “example” come from?
Example comes from Middle English exaumple, from Old French essample, from Latin exemplum, meaning "pattern or model to be followed."
example (English): Something that is representative of all such...
Definitions
- Something that is representative of all such...
Ancestry of “example”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | example | — |
| 2 | Old French | example | — |
| 3 | Old French | essample | Alternative form of essainple; example |
| 4 | Latin | exemplum | a sample; an example; a warning example, lesson,... |
| 5 | Latin | eximō | to take out, take away, remove or extract |
| 6 | Latin | emo | I buy, purchase; I acquire, procure |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | emō | to buy, to purchase |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁em- | to take; to distribute |