SAMPLE

9 definitions found across Law Mind sources

SAMPLEAuthored
The Law Mind • 876 words
Definition
A sample is a small portion of a commodity presented to a prospective buyer as representative of the quality, character, or nature of the whole stock or bulk from which it is drawn. The legal significance of a sample lies not in the specimen itself but in the warranty it implies: when a sale is made by sample, the seller represents that the bulk of the goods conforms in quality to the sample shown. SALE BY SAMPLE: A transaction in which the buyer's agreement to purchase is induced by inspection of a specimen quantity rather than the full goods. The seller's warranty of conformity between sample and bulk is an implied term of such a sale. If the delivered goods fail to match the sample, the buyer is not bound to accept them and may have remedies for breach.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): A portion taken from a larger whole, used to represent or test the quality or character of that whole; also used broadly in music (to reuse a recorded sound) and statistics (a subset drawn from a population). Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "A part of anything presented for inspection, or shown as evidence of the quality of the whole; a specimen; as, goods are often purchased by samples." The common and legal meanings are closely aligned here, but the legal meaning carries a specific consequence the common meaning does not: presenting a sample in a commercial transaction activates an implied warranty. In ordinary English, showing a sample is merely informational. In law, it is a representation with contractual force.
Core Elements
For a sale by sample to carry the implied warranty of conformity, the historical sources and commercial law doctrine converge on these conditions: 1. The sample was drawn from the bulk and genuinely represents it (not a specially selected outlier). 2. The buyer was induced to contract by inspection of the sample rather than by independent examination of the whole. 3. The bulk delivered must correspond in quality to the sample exhibited. Failure of the third element gives rise to buyer's remedies; failure of the first may constitute fraud.
Why It Matters in Research
The primary legal importance of this term surfaces in commercial law and sales disputes, making it a gateway to warranty doctrine. Researchers working in 19th-century commercial litigation will encounter "sale by sample" as a recurring fact pattern in goods disputes, particularly in textile, grain, and commodity trades where bulk inspection was impractical. Two research traps to flag: First, historical sources use "sample" almost exclusively in the sales-warranty context. Modern commercial law—particularly under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code—has codified and expanded this doctrine, so a researcher moving from historical case law to modern statutory analysis needs to make that bridge explicitly. The implied warranty by sample in UCC § 2-313(1)(c) is the direct doctrinal descendant of the common law rule Bouvier describes. Second, the Anderson's entry in this compilation is a mismatch—it contains salvage material, not sample doctrine. Researchers relying on that source for "sample" will find nothing useful there; the entry appears to be a digitization or indexing error. Consult Black's and Bouvier's as the authoritative historical sources for this term. The term also connects to broader evidentiary and regulatory contexts in the modern corpus—environmental sampling, forensic sampling, and statistical sampling in audit and fraud litigation—none of which are addressed in the historical dictionaries. These are distinct uses requiring separate research pathways.
Historical Dictionary Support
The historical dictionaries are unusually consistent on this term. Black's (both editions), Bouvier's, and Burrill's all define sample as a small quantity of a commodity shown as evidence of the quality of the bulk. The core warranty principle—that a sale by sample carries a seller's implied undertaking that the bulk matches the specimen—appears explicitly in Bouvier's, which notes that the buyer is not bound to accept nonconforming goods. This is the clearest doctrinal statement among the historical sources. Black's adds the sub-entry "Sale by Sample" without elaborating the warranty rule, while Burrill's is the most compressed, offering only the basic definition. None of the historical dictionaries address the buyer's specific remedies in any depth, nor do they engage with the question of what constitutes adequate "correspondence" between sample and bulk—a point that generated considerable 19th-century litigation and that researchers will need to pursue through case law rather than these dictionary entries. The Webster's 1913 definition confirms that the commercial usage was already the dominant lay understanding by the late 19th century, with "goods are often purchased by samples" offered as the illustrative example.
Jurisdictional Note
Under the UCC (adopted in substantially similar form across U.S. jurisdictions), the warranty by sample is codified in Article 2. The common law rule survives in jurisdictions and transactions where the UCC does not apply. In international sales, the CISG addresses conformity obligations in analogous terms. The details of buyer's remedies for sample nonconformity vary by jurisdiction and governing law.
Related Terms
Sale by sample — Implied warranty — Warranty of conformity — Bulk (commodity law) — Inspection (buyer's right) — Breach of warranty — UCC Article 2 — Specimen — Description (sale by)
SAMPLEmain
Black's Law Dictionary • 1891
A specimen; a small quan- tity of any commodity, presented for inspec- tion or examination as evidence of the quali- ty of the whole; as a sample of cloth or of wheat. SAMPLE, SALE BY. A sale at which only a sample of the goods sold is exhibited to the buyer. SANÆ MENTIS. law. Of sound mind. Lat. In old English Fleta, lib. 3, c. 7, § 1.
SAMPLEmain
Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) • 1910
A specimen; a small quantity of any commodity, presented for inspection or examination as evidence of the quality of the whole; as a sample of cloth or of wheat. —Sample, sale by. A sale at which only a er. ‘SANZ MENTIS. Lat. In old English law. Of sound mind. Fieta, lib. 3, ¢. 7, § 1.
SAMPLEmain
Anderson's Dictionary of Law • 1890
covering such property from actual peril or loss, as, in cases of shipwreck, derelict, or recapture.1 Salvor. A person who renders salvage service. "A person who, without any particular relation to a ship in distress, proffers useful service, and gives it as a voluntary adventurer, without any pre-existing covenant that connected him with the duty of employing himself for the preservation of that ship." 2 Elements of a valid claim are: a marine peril, voluntary service not owed to the property as a matter of duty, and success in saving the property, or some portion, from the impending peril; or, again: a marine peril, service voluntarily rendered when not required as an existing duty or from a special contract, and success in whole or in part, or service contributing thereto. Proof of success, to some extent, is as essential as proof of service. 1 Suit for salvage may be in rem, against the proporty saved or the proceeds thereof, or in personam, against the party at whose request and for whose benefit the service was performed. But both proceedings may not be had in one and the same libel.1 The allowance of a compensation, which much exceeds the risk encountered and the labor employed, is intended as an inducement to render the services which it is for the public interest and the general interest of humanity, to hold forth to those who navigate the ocean. Liberal remuneration is allowed to induce the daring to embark in such enterprises, and to withdraw motive to depredate upon the property. Seamen, pilots, and passengers, who perform extraordinary services out of their duty, are entitled to it; but not, one who places the property in danger.3 In determining the amount of the reward, courts of admiralty consider as the main ingredients: the labor expended; the promptitude, skill, and energy displayed; the value of the property employed in rendering the service, and the danger thereto; the risk incurred; the value of the property saved; and the degree of danger from which the property was rescued. The compensation is not viewed merely as pay, on the principle of quantum meruit, or as remuneration pro opere et labore, but as a reward for perilous services voluntarily rendered, and as inducement to embark in such undertakings. Compensation presupposes good faith, meritorious The Sabine, 101 U. S. 384-91 (1879), cases, Clifford, J. See also Cope v. Vallette Dry-Dock Co., 119 id. 629 (1887), cases; The Fannie Brown, 30 F. R. 220 (1887). 2 The Neptune, 1 Hagg. 236 (1824), Ld. Stowell. Approved, The Wave v. Hyer, 2 Paine, 139 (1833?); 1 Curtis, 378. The Clarita and The Clara, ante. The Blaireau, 2 Cranch, 265 (1804), Marshall, C. J. Approved, 31 F. R. 426. service, complete restoration, and incorruptible vigilance.¹ Saving a ship in port from imminent danger of destruction by fire is as much a salvage service as saving her from the perils of the seas. The shortness of the time occupied does not lessen the merit of the service. A passenger cannot recover for every service which would support a claim by one in nowise connected with the ship; yet, for extraordinary services, and the use of extraordinary means, not furnished by the equipment of the ship herself, by which she is saved from imminent danger, he may have salvage. The amount is largely a matter of fact and dis cretion, which cannot be reduced to precise rules but depends upon a consideration of the circumstances of each case.2 See ADMIRALTY; CONSORT, 2; DERELICT, 2; TOWAGE 2. In the law of insurance, see INSURANCE, Fire. In the law of sales, that which is taken out of a large quantity as a representative of the whole; a part shown as a specimen.8 The fair import of the exhibition of a sample is that the article to be sold is like that shown as a par1 The Island City, 1 Black, 130 (1861), Grier, J. The Connemara, 108 U. S. 357-59 (1883), cases, Gray, J.; The Tornado, 109 id. 115 (1883). See generally The Egypt, 17 F. R. 367-76 (1883), cases; 9 id. 53, 480; 10 id. 556; 1 Bened. 553, 10 id. 73-74; 1 Sumn. 216; 1 Bond, 117, 270; 2 id. 375; 1 Cliff. 220; 3 Woods, 149. 32 Kent, 555: Coke, Litt. 20 b, 385 b. • Carpo v. Brown, 40 Iowa, 493 (1875), Day, J. • United States v. Cashiel, 1 Hughes, 560 (1863). Brockway v. Rowley, 66 111. 99 (1872). O. F. ensample, a corruption of example, exemple: The Blackwall, 10 Wall. 14, 12 (1869), cases, Clifford, L. exemplum: ex-imere (emere), to take out, select. J.; The Sabine, supra. • Webber's Case, 33 Gratt. 904 (1880), Staples, J.
SAMPLEn.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
Example; pattern. [Obs.] Spenser. "A sample to the youngest." Shak. Thus he concludes, and every hardy knight His sample followed. Fairfax. A part of anything presented for inspection, or shown as evidence of the quality of the whole; a specimen; as, goods are often purchased by samples. I design this but for a sample of what I hope more fully to discuss. Woodward.
SAMPLEv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
To make or show something similar to; to match. Bp. Hall. To take or to test a sample or samples of; as, to sample sugar, teas, wools, cloth.
Samplename
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
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A surname.
samplenoun
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
Extracted and formatted for display by Law Mind. Source link opens the current Wiktionary page and its contributor history; it is not a frozen copy of this extract.
A part or snippet of something taken or presented for inspection, or shown as evidence of the quality of the whole; a specimen. | A subset or portion of a population that is systematically selected for measurement, observation, or questioning, with the objective of generating statistical information that accurately reflects the characteristics of the entire population. | A small quantity of food for tasting, typically given away for free. | A small piece of some goods, for determining quality, colour, etc., typically given away for free. | A borrowing of easily recognised phases (or moments) from other music (or movies) in a recording. | Example; pattern.
sampleverb
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
Extracted and formatted for display by Law Mind. Source link opens the current Wiktionary page and its contributor history; it is not a frozen copy of this extract.
To take or to test a sample or samples of. | To reduce a continuous signal (such as a sound wave) to a discrete signal. | To reuse a portion of (an existing sound recording) in a new piece of music. | To make or show something similar to a sample.

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