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sample

Pronunciation: /ˈsɑːm.pəl/

The English word “sample” has 10 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A part or snippet of something taken or presented for inspection, or shown as evidence of the quality of the whole; a specimen.
  2. A subset or portion of a population that is systematically selected for measurement, observation, or questioning, with the objective of generating statistical information that accurately reflects the characteristics of the entire population.
  3. A small quantity of food for tasting, typically given away for free.
  4. A small piece of some goods, for determining quality, colour, etc., typically given away for free.
  5. A borrowing of easily recognised phases (or moments) from other music (or movies) in a recording.
  6. Example; pattern.

verb

  1. To take or to test a sample or samples of.
  2. To reduce a continuous signal (such as a sound wave) to a discrete signal.
  3. To reuse a portion of (an existing sound recording) in a new piece of music.
  4. To make or show something similar to a sample.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English saumple, sample, from Old French essample (“example”), from Latin exemplum. Doublet of example and exemplum.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.