Main Entry: ¹sam·ple

Pronunciation: \ˈsam-pəl\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French sample, essample, from Latin exemplum — more at example

Date: 15th century

1 : a representative part or a single item from a larger whole or group especially when presented for inspection or shown as evidence of quality : specimen
2 : a finite part of a statistical population whose properties are studied to gain information about the whole
3 : an excerpt from a musical recording that is used in another artist's recording

synonyms see instance