Etymologically
Log in

muestra

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Spanish word muestra

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1247 Fueros de Aragón More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Latin moneō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin moneō
Latin mōnstrum
French monstre
Italian mostro
Latin mōnstrō
French montrer
Italian mostrare
Spanish mostrar
Spanish muestra
From the same root
Latin admoneō ← moneō
Latin commoneō ← moneō
Latin monitiō ← moneō
Latin monitor ← moneō
Latin monitum ← moneō
Latin monitus ← moneō
Latin monumentum ← moneō
Latin praemoneo ← moneō
Latin mōnstruōsus ← mōnstrum
Latin dēmōnstrō ← mōnstrō
Latin mōnstrātor ← mōnstrō
Spanish demostrar ← mōnstrō
French montre ← montrer
Italian mostra ← mostrare

Pronunciation

  • /ˈmwestɾa/, [ˈmwes.t̪ɾa][1]

Forms

muestra f (plural muestras)[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from Spanish mostrar (“to show”).[2][1][3][4] mostrar is from Latin mōnstrō (“to show, point out”), from mōnstrum (“portent”), which is formed from Latin moneō (“to warn, remind”) + -trum (“instrument suffix”).[5][1]

Neighbouring languages formed the same noun: Catalan mostra has the senses “display of goods”, “review of troops” and “a dog's pointing”, and Galician mostra means “clock”.[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas dates the noun from Alfonso X's book of chess of 1288.[4][3] The CDH has it already in the Fueros de Aragón of 1247, in the plural, for the proofs a party brings in a lawsuit: within ten days one may demandar sos muestras & sos defensiones “present his proofs and defences”.[8][9]

Semantic evolution

Nebrija about 1495 already distinguishes a muestra de vanagloria “display of vainglory”, a muestra de cosa de comer “taste of food” and a muestra de mercadería “sample of goods”.[5][10] Covarrubias in 1611 defines it as the part of a cloth shown in the shop so that the buyer can judge it, as an embroiderer's design, the model of handwriting given to a child, and the review of soldiers.[11] The Diccionario de Autoridades puts the sample of cloth or goods first, then “design, model”, and figuratively “sign, proof”.[12]

The Academy's dictionary of 1817 adds the pause of a hunting dog that points at game, which gave perro de muestra “pointer”, and the dial of a clock.[13] By 1869 it put the shop sign first.[14] In Asturias the word also meant “pocket watch”.[15] The modern scientific and statistical senses, a sample taken for analysis and a part representative of a whole, now stand near the head of the DLE's list.[2][9] The proverb para muestra basta un botón “one button is sample enough” was recorded in Chile and Argentina as missing from the Academy's dictionary.[16][17]

Timeline

  • 1247 – the Fueros de Aragón use muestras for proofs in a lawsuit.[8][9]
  • 1288 – Alfonso X's book of chess, Corominas's first record.[4][3]
  • c. 1495 – Nebrija lists a display of vanity, a taste of food and a sample of goods.[5]
  • 1513 – first record from the Americas, in Puerto Rico: a dechado de muestras “sampler”.[18]
  • 1611 – Covarrubias records the senses “cloth shown in a shop”, “design” and “review of troops”.[11]
  • 1817 – the Academy adds the hunting dog's point and the clock dial.[13]
  • 1869 – the shop sign becomes the Academy's first sense.[14]
  • 1884 – the Academy's dictionary first derives it from mostrar.[19]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sample of a product or merchandise that shows the quality of the goods: una muestra gratuita de champú.[2][1]
  2. A part taken from a whole by methods that make it representative of it, in statistics and science: Analizaron una muestra de agua del pozo.[2][9]
  3. An exhibition of works of art or technology.[2][1]
  4. A model to be copied, such as the handwriting copied by schoolchildren.[2]
  5. A sign, token or proof of something: Le regaló unas flores como muestra de cariño.[2][1]
  6. A shop sign announcing the goods sold or the trade practised inside.[2]
  7. The end of a piece of woollen cloth bearing the maker's mark.[2]
  8. Bearing, demeanour.[2]
  9. The dial of a clock.[2]
  10. (card games) The card turned up to show the trump suit.[2]
  11. (agriculture) The first sign of fruit on a plant.[2]
  12. (hunting) The pause of a dog pointing at game.[2]
  13. (military) A review of troops.[2]

Word family

  • muestrario
  • muestrear
  • muestreo

Usage notes

Hacer muestra means “to show, to make a show of”, and pasar muestra “to inspect; to review troops”.[2] The form is also the third person singular present of mostrar (ella muestra).[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. muestra
  3. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. mostrar
  4. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 164
  5. ^ a b c Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. muestra
  6. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. mostra
  7. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 4425
  8. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. muestra
  9. ^ a b c d Real Academia Nacional de Medicina (2011), Diccionario de términos médicos, Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana; online at https://dtme.ranm.es, p. s.v. muestra
  10. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 383
  11. ^ a b Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1153
  12. ^ Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 626
  13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 589
  14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 526
  15. ^ Rato y Hevia, Apolinar de (1891), Vocabulario de las palabras y frases bables que se hablaron antiguamente y de las que hoy se hablan en el Principado de Asturias, Madrid: Manuel G. Hernández, p. 86
  16. ^ Román, Manuel Antonio (1901–1918), Diccionario de chilenismos y de otras voces y locuciones viciosas, 5 vols., Santiago de Chile: Imprenta de San José, p. 567
  17. ^ Garzón, Tobías (1910), Diccionario argentino, Barcelona: Imprenta Elzeviriana de Borrás y Mestres, p. 322
  18. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. muestra
  19. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 725

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Muestra.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/muestra. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·