rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryRoot: -er
English

-er

a person or thing that does something

Forms

  • -er
  • -r — Used after some bases ending in e.

Origin

Old English -ere, generally traced through Germanic to Latin -arius.

Note

It can name a tool as readily as a person. The comparison ending in taller has a different history.

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noun

sampler

SAM-pler/ˈsæmplər/

A collection of representative examples.

This cheese sampler offers small tastes of several different cheeses.

Small cheese tasting sampler.
Etymology
samplLatinspecimen, model, example
+erEnglisha person or thing that does something

The “specimen or model” sense of exemplum underlies sampler. Originally a pattern to imitate, a sampler came to mean a collection of specimens illustrating a wider range.

In context

SweetGeorgia16:15
this is my sampler I'm gonna put in a whole bunch of different yarns see how they react at this set
Weaving on the Arras Tapestry Loom // Episode 114 // Taking Back Friday // a fibre arts vlog

More examples

  • The bakery sells samplers of its most popular cookies.
  • The booklet offers a sampler of poems by local writers.
  • Her needlework sampler displays several stitches in neat rows.

Forms

sampler · samplers

sample noun — A small portion representing a whole.

Similar words

assortment
An assortment emphasizes variety rather than representing a larger whole.
selection
A selection is any chosen group, not necessarily representative.