exempl

From Latin exemplum 'a sample taken out (to show), a typical instance, a model,' from eximere (ex- 'out' + emere 'to take, buy') = 'to take out.' A sample taken out of the whole stands for the whole — so it becomes both 'an example' and 'a model to imitate.' Yields example, exemplify (to illustrate by example), exemplary (fit to be a model). Note: examination / examine come from a different Latin word (examen, the pointer of a scale) and are NOT part of this root.