What does exemple mean?
"Exemple" is an archaic English form of the word now universally written as "example". Historically, it denoted the same things its modern counterpart does: a typical instance of something, an illustration of a general rule, or a model worthy of imitation. The spelling appears in Middle and Early Modern English sources but was eventually standardized as "example", leaving "exemple" obsolete in English. The form lives on, however, in French, where "exemple" remains the everyday word meaning example. Encountering "exemple" in an English text today usually signals one of three things: a quotation from an older work, a deliberate Gallicism used for stylistic effect, or simple confusion with the French spelling. For learners and writers of contemporary English, the practical takeaway is straightforward: "example" is always the correct choice, while "exemple" is best understood as a historical and cross-linguistic relative of the modern word rather than a usable alternative.
nounAn archaic or obsolete English spelling and form of "example" — a thing characteristic of its kind, or a person or thing to be imitated. It survives in modern standard use only in French, not in contemporary English.
- An archaic spelling and form of "example" — a representative instance or model to be imitated.
"In older texts, one may encounter phrases such as "to make an exemple of the offender," where modern usage would simply say "example.""
"The manuscript rendered it as "exemple," a spelling common before the word settled into its modern shape."
"He cited the case as an exemple of judicial restraint, borrowing the French term deliberately for effect."
The plural follows the same pattern as "example" but shares its archaic status; in French, "exemples" is the normal plural.
"Old chronicles are filled with moral exemples drawn from the lives of saints."
If you write "exemple" in English today, you're not making a typo so much as speaking Middle English — or accidentally slipping into French.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of exemple
"Exemple" derives from Latin "exemplum", meaning a sample, pattern, or instance, formed from "eximere" — to take out. The word passed into Old French as "exemple" and was borrowed into Middle English, where it coexisted with spellings reflecting both French and Latin forms. Over time English standardized on the spelling "example", closer to the Latin original, while French retained "exemple" as its standard form. Its English cognates include "exemplary", "exemplify", and "exemplar", all from the same Latin root.
How exemple is actually used
"Exemple" is not part of current standard English vocabulary. It appears mainly in historical texts, in quotations from Middle English or Early Modern English, and in deliberate borrowings from French, where "exemple" is the living, ordinary word for "example". Writers of modern English should use "example".
Easily confused with exemple
"Exemple" is an archaic or foreign-language variant; in all modern English writing, "example" is the correct standard form.