A sample is a small part of something that shows what the whole is like. It can be a piece of material, a bit of food to taste, or a small group chosen from a larger population for testing or study.
From Old French *essample* meaning 'example', from Latin *exemplum*. Over time, the initial vowel was dropped and the meaning narrowed to a physical or measurable part of a whole.
A sample is really a stand‑in—a tiny ambassador for something much bigger. In science, politics, and even music (think audio samples), we use small pieces to speak for the whole. The word reminds you that whenever you see 'data', you’re really seeing carefully chosen fragments of reality.
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