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typify

[tip-uh-fahy]
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verb (used with object), typ·i·fied, typ·i·fy·ing.
  1. to serve as a typical example of; exemplify.
  2. to serve as a symbol or emblem of; symbolize; prefigure.
  3. to represent by a type or symbol.
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Origin of typify

1625–35; < Latin typ(us) type + -ify
Related formstyp·i·fi·ca·tion, nountyp·i·fi·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for typify

Historical Examples

  • Was he a quadruped with mane and tail, or an allegory invented to typify destiny?

    A Day's Ride

    Charles James Lever

  • Therefore, when you fight for us you fight not only for yourself, but for everything you typify.

    The Napoleon of Notting Hill

    Gilbert K. Chesterton

  • It seemed to her to typify all that was unlovely in her life.

  • His Virgins are like goddesses, and seem to typify for him the strength of womanhood.

    Luca Signorelli

    Maud Cruttwell

  • This was to typify to him his own undutiful and unnatural behavior.

    Richard I

    Jacob Abbott

British Dictionary definitions for typify

typify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)
  1. to be typical of; characterize
  2. to symbolize or represent completely, by or as if by a type
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Derived Formstypification, nountypifier, noun

Word Origin

C17: from Latin typus type + -ify
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 typify

v.

1630s, "to represent by a symbol," from Latin typus (see type (n.)) + -fy. Meaning "to serve as a typical specimen of some class, etc." is attested from 1854.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper