What does exemplum mean?
An exemplum is a brief narrative — typically an anecdote — told to make a moral or instructive point, most famously within medieval Christian sermons, where preachers used vivid stories to drive home doctrine to ordinary congregations. In literary criticism, the term refers both to these individual tales (often gathered into collections that preachers could draw upon) and to the rhetorical device itself. A second, broader sense treats an exemplum as any typical or exemplary instance of a quality or behaviour: one might describe a leader's conduct as an exemplum of integrity. The word carries a distinctly formal, scholarly register today; it appears chiefly in academic writing on rhetoric, medieval literature, and moral instruction rather than everyday conversation. Its plural is the Latinate "exempla." Related words such as "example," "exemplary," and "exemplify" share its Latin root, but the specific term survives mainly as a technical label for morality tales and their use in persuasive, teaching contexts.
nounAn exemplum is a short story or anecdote used to illustrate a moral point, especially in a sermon or didactic work. More broadly, it can denote a typical or representative example of something.
- A short tale or anecdote told to illustrate a moral point, especially in a sermon or didactic text.
- A typical, model, or representative instance of something.
"The medieval preacher enlivened his sermon with an exemplum about a merchant who learned honesty the hard way."
"The collection includes an exemplum in which a greedy knight is punished for his avarice."
"Her flawless handling of the crisis became an exemplum of calm leadership."
The Latin plural "exempla" is standard, particularly in scholarly writing on medieval literature and rhetoric.
"The manuscript contains dozens of exempla suitable for pulpit use."
Medieval sermons were so full of dry theology that preachers kept a whole genre of crowd-pleasing stories on hand — the exemplum — essentially the punchline-driven anecdotes of the Middle Ages.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of exemplum
Exemplum comes directly from Latin "exemplum," meaning a sample, pattern, or example, derived from "eximere," to take out. It entered English in the late Middle Ages through scholarly and ecclesiastical Latin, retaining its Latin plural form "exempla." It shares this root with "example," "exemplar," "exemplary," and ultimately "sample."
Related word forms
How exemplum is actually used
The word is formal and largely confined to literary criticism, medieval studies, and rhetoric. The plural "exempla" is standard in scholarly writing; "exemplums" is rare and generally avoided.
Easily confused with exemplum
"Exempt" means freed from an obligation, whereas an "exemplum" is an illustrative anecdote or example.