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exemplary

[ig-zem-pluh-ree, eg-zuhm-pler-ee]
adjective
  1. worthy of imitation; commendable: exemplary conduct.
  2. serving as a warning: an exemplary penalty.
  3. serving as an illustration or specimen; illustrative; typical: The sentences read are exemplary of the style of the essay as a whole.
  4. serving as a model or pattern: The authoritative and exemplary text of the work is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.
  5. of, relating to, or composed of exempla, or examples or models: the exemplary literature of the medieval period.
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Origin of exemplary

1400–50 for earlier sense “model, exemplar”; 1580–90 for def 1; late Middle English (noun) < Latin exemplāris. See exemplum, -ary
Related formsex·em·pla·ri·ly, adverbex·em·pla·ri·ness, ex·em·plar·i·ty [eg-zuhm-plar-i-tee] /ˌɛg zəmˈplær ɪ ti/, nounnon·ex·em·pla·ry, adjectiveun·ex·em·pla·ry, adjective

Synonyms for exemplary

1. laudable, noteworthy, praiseworthy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for exemplarity

exemplary

adjective
  1. fit for imitation; modelan exemplary performance
  2. serving as a warning; admonitoryan exemplary jail sentence
  3. representative; typicalan action exemplary of his conduct
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Derived Formsexemplarily, adverbexemplariness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for exemplarity

exemplary

adj.

1580s, "fit to be an example," from Middle French exemplaire, from Latin exemplaris "that serves as an example," from exemplum "example" (see example). Earlier (early 15c.) as a noun meaning "a model of conduct."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper