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archetype

[ ahr-ki-tahyp ]
/ ˈɑr kɪˌtaɪp /
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See synonyms for: archetype / archetypal / archetypical / archetypic on Thesaurus.com
noun
the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.
(in Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches.
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Origin of archetype

1595–1605; <Latin archetypum an original <Greek archétypon a model, pattern (neuter of archétypos of the first mold, equivalent to arche-arche- + týp(os) mold, type + -os adj. suffix)

OTHER WORDS FROM archetype

ar·che·typ·al, ar·che·typ·i·cal [ahr-ki-tip-i-kuhl], /ˌɑr kɪˈtɪp ɪ kəl/, ar·che·typ·ic, adjectivear·che·typ·al·ly, ar·che·typ·i·cal·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH archetype

archetype , prototype
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to archetype

form, ideal, model, original, paradigm, pattern, prototype, standard

How to use archetype in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for archetype

archetype
/ (ˈɑːkɪˌtaɪp) /
noun
a perfect or typical specimen
an original model or pattern; prototype
psychoanal one of the inherited mental images postulated by Jung as the content of the collective unconscious
a constantly recurring symbol or motif in literature, painting, etc

Word Origin for archetype

C17: from Latin archetypum an original, from Greek arkhetupon, from arkhetupos first-moulded; see arch-, type
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

Cultural definitions for archetype

archetype
[ (ahr-ki-teyep) ]

An original model after which other similar things are patterned. In the psychology of Carl Jung, archetypes are the images, patterns, and symbols (see also symbol) that rise out of the collective unconscious and appear in dreams, mythology, and fairy tales.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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