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

How to use archetype in a sentence

Sure, the characters are more like archetypes than human beings.
‘The Counselor’ & How Cormac McCarthy Beat the Hollywood Curse|Andrew Romano|October 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The archetypes of evil Bond vanquishes are all world-class crooks.
James Bond is Back But is He Any Good without Fleming?|Robert McCrum|October 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Tracy Quan examines what celebrity relationship archetypes we should emulate and which ones we should avoid.
Kristen Stewart, Katie Holmes, and the Summer of Break-Up Porn|Tracy Quan|August 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Celebrities in medias break-up provide us with necessary archetypes to emulate or avoid—cool Katie Holmes, chaotic Demi Moore.
Kristen Stewart, Katie Holmes, and the Summer of Break-Up Porn|Tracy Quan|August 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST

As we become adults, we have this need to marginalize youth and make them into archetypes.
‘The Cabin in the Woods’ Spoilers: Drew Goddard Speaks Freely|Maria Elena Fernandez|April 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST
No longer identifying himself with material objects, he is at last in touch with the perfect and changeless archetypes.
The Hive|Will Levington Comfort
One cannot go wrong in taking for granted that plant-forms were the archetypes of all these patterns.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 460, October 25, 1884|Various
Moses and the prophets were considered by the evangelists antetypes or archetypes of the coming Savior.
The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors|Kersey Graves
How will you give your characters real presence, an allowance to take away from them unintentional archetypes or woodiness?
The Land of Look Behind|Paul Cameron Brown
He turns from science to theology, from the world of time and change to the world of archetypes or ideas.
The Legacy of Greece|Various

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.

archetype

Origin of archetype

OTHER WORDS FROM archetype

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH archetype

Words related to archetype

How to use archetype in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for archetype

Word Origin for archetype

Cultural definitions for archetype