sample

Meaning

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 of a population selected for measurement, observation or questioning, to provide statistical information about the 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. Gratuitous borrowing of easily recognised phases (or moments) from other music (or movies) in a recording.
6. (obsolete) 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.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsɑːm.pəl/

Etymology

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