Exemplum

noun

noun ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An example.
  2. 2
    A story demonstrating a moral point; a parable.

    "In the Middle Ages preachers had enlivened their sermons with exempla – edifying tales of judgements upon sinners and mercies shown to the pious."

Synonyms

All synonyms
example

Example

More examples

"In the Middle Ages preachers had enlivened their sermons with exempla – edifying tales of judgements upon sinners and mercies shown to the pious."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin exemplum (“example”). Doublet of example and sample.

Related phrases

exemplum virtutis

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.