sample English · revision 4750

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 1300|origins=la exemplum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈsɑːm.pəl/, US /ˈsæm.pəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|saumple]], [[bor|xno|saumple]], a shortening of Old French essample,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|exemplum|t=a sample, example]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and partly a shortening of Middle English ensaumple.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is a doublet of [[example]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A fact, story or case that illustrates or confirms a statement, a sense now obsolete: about 1300 in Etymonline and Barnhart, before 1300 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English the word had many of the senses now found only in example, such as an incident that teaches a lesson, a model of conduct to imitate, and a warning.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A small quantity of material from which the quality of the whole can be judged is from the early 15th century (1428 in the OED), later usually in a commercial sense.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A specimen for scientific testing is from 1878, and in statistics, part of a population studied to estimate the whole, from 1903.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The adjective is from 1820.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The verb first meant “to match, parallel” (1592) and “to set an example of” (1600);^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) “to take a sample of, test” is from 1767,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and the current verb senses date from the mid 18th century.^(NODE 1998) Recording part of a piece of music to reuse it in another is a late 20th-century sense.^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – an illustrative case.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1428 – a part showing the quality of the whole.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1592 – verb, to match.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1767 – verb, to test by a sample.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1820 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1878 – a specimen for analysis.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1903 – in statistics.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small part or amount that shows what the whole is like; a [[specimen]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(statistics)'' A set of people or things chosen from a population to estimate the whole.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A small amount of a product given free to try.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A piece of recorded sound reused in a new recording.^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To take a sample of, especially in order to test it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To try or experience briefly: ''sample the local food''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To record a piece of sound to reuse it in a new [[recording]].^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Serving as an example: ''a sample question''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[intersample]]

+ * [[subsample]]

+ * [[resample]]

+ * [[sampler]]

+ * [[sample point]]

+ * [[sample room]]

+ * [[sample space]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[example]]

+ * [[exemplary]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}