Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (n.) Example; pattern.

2. (n.) 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.

3. (v. t.) To make or show something similar to; to match.

4. (v. t.) To take or to test a sample or samples of; as, to sample sugar, teas, wools, cloths.