What does ensample mean?
"Ensample" is an archaic English noun meaning an example — either an illustrative instance of something or, more commonly, a model or pattern worthy of imitation. It entered Middle English through Old French from the Latin "exemplum," and for centuries it coexisted with its modern sibling "example," the two being essentially variant forms of one word. Today "ensample" is obsolete in everyday usage but retains a foothold in religious and literary tradition: it appears repeatedly in the King James Bible of 1611, where phrases such as "being ensamples to the flock" gave it a lasting association with moral instruction and pastoral teaching. Writers who reach for "ensample" nowadays usually do so deliberately, to lend their prose a solemn, scriptural, or antiquarian flavor. Readers encountering it can safely understand it as "example," while noting that its connotations are weightier — less a neutral illustration than an admonitory pattern of conduct. Its chief interest lies in this survival as a fossil of earlier English.
nounAn archaic word for an example or model, especially a pattern of conduct to be imitated. It is used chiefly in older religious and literary texts, most famously in the King James Bible.
- An instance serving to illustrate a rule or point; a case in point (archaic).
- A person or thing regarded as a pattern or model to be imitated (archaic, often in religious contexts).
"The apostle urged his followers to take the early church as an ensample of charity and devotion."
"Paul wrote that he had left Timothy with them as an ensample of godly living."
"The ruined abbey stands as an ensample of what neglect can do to even the grandest building."
The plural follows the regular English pattern and appears mainly in older religious texts.
"The scriptures set forth many ensamples of faith for believers to follow."
If you've read the King James Bible, you've met "ensample" — it's simply the old spelling-flavored cousin of "example," kept alive by scripture long after everyday English moved on.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ensample
"Ensample" derives from Old French "essample," which itself descends from the Latin "exemplum," meaning a sample, pattern, or precedent — the same source that gave English "example." The word was borrowed into Middle English, where both "ensample" and "example" circulated as parallel forms of one borrowing. Over time "example" became the standard form, while "ensample" persisted chiefly in formal and religious registers before falling out of general use after the seventeenth century, surviving mainly through the King James Bible and later literary imitation.
How ensample is actually used
"Ensample" is archaic and would sound stilted in ordinary modern speech or writing. It survives almost exclusively in quotations from the King James Bible (e.g., 1 Peter 5:3) and in deliberately archaic literary prose. When encountered, it should be read simply as "example," though it often carries a slightly more solemn, moralizing tone than its modern counterpart.
Easily confused with ensample
"Example" is the standard modern word for an instance or model; "ensample" is an archaic variant carrying the same meaning, now found mainly in older religious texts.