Sampler

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈsæmplɚ/

Definitions

1. A device or person that collects small portions of various items to test, evaluate, or display their characteristics
2. A tool or individual that gathers or provides samples of different items for analysis, comparison, or presentation purposes
3. An instrument or person that selects and showcases portions of various products for the purposes of evaluation, testing, or demonstration

Etymology: The word "sampler" has two separate histories that meet in English. The older one is a needlework sampler: a piece of cloth on which a young embroiderer stitched alphabets, numbers and motifs to show her skill and to preserve patterns. That sense comes from Old French "essamplaire", from Latin "exemplaris", meaning a model or pattern to copy, and it is a doublet of "exemplar", so the two words descend from the same Latin source by different routes. The sense of collecting a small portion to test it is simpler. It is formed from "sample", a shortening of the older "saumple" (via Old French "essample" and Latin "exemplum"), plus the agent suffix "-er". So a sampler is literally something that takes a sample. The word's meaning therefore moved from a stitched model to a tool or person that draws a representative piece, and both senses rest on the idea of an example.

Synonyms: taster, selection, representative, example, variety