Etymograph

English

example

Example comes from Latin exemplum ‘sample, pattern, specimen, copy for imitation,…’, and goes back to eximō ‘to take out, take away’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeximō1‘to take out’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexemplum2‘sample’literally ‘what is taken out’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400example2
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500example2
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596example2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin exemplum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English example
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “Such temperate order in ſo fierce a cauſe, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeximōWiktionary, Latin exemplum‘to take out’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexemplumWiktionary, English example‘sample’literally ‘what is taken out’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400exampleWiktionary, English example
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500exampleWiktionary, English example
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596exampleWiktionary, English example. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “Such temperate order in ſo fierce a cauſe, /…”

The story

From Middle English example, exaumple, from Old French example, essaumple, from Latin exemplum (“sample, pattern, specimen, copy for imitation, etc.”, literally “what is taken out”); see exempt.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with example, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin eximō ‘to take out, take away’

through Latin exemplum ‘sample, pattern, specimen, copy for imitation, etc’

  • sample ← saumple ← essample
  • exemplary ← exemplarie ← exemplāris
  • exemplify ← exemplifien ← exemplifier ← exemplificō
  • exemplar ← exempler ← exemplair ← exemplāris

6 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun Something that is representative of all such things in a group.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “example”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin exemplum. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin eximō / example