archetype

Meaning

Noun

1. An original model of which all other similar concepts, objects, or persons are merely copied, derivative, emulated, or patterned; a prototype.
2. An ideal example of something; a quintessence.
3. A character, object, or story that is based on a known character, object, or story.
4. According to Swiss psychologist Carl Jung: a universal pattern of thought, present in an individual's unconscious, inherited from the past collective experience of humanity.
5. A protograph (“original manuscript of a text from which all further copies derive”).

Verb

To depict as, model using, or otherwise associate an object or subject with an archetype.

Synonyms

prototype

model

pattern

standard

original

paradigm

example

ideal

exemplar

paragon

pilot

🧑‍✈️

patterned

copied

representative

template

norm

typical

epitome

Translations

arquétipo

archétype

arquetipo

arquetip

αρχέτυπο

Archetyp

archetipo

Urbild

Urform

Archetypus

archetype

prototype

Erstdruck

arketîp

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/

Etymology

Cognate with French: archétype

In summary

From Old French architipe (modern French archétype), from Latin archetypum (“original”), from Ancient Greek ἀρχέτυπον (arkhétupon, “model, pattern”), the neuter form of ἀρχέτυπος (arkhétupos, “first-moulded”), from ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “beginning, origin”) (from ἄρχω (árkhō, “to begin; to lead, rule”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ergʰ- (“to begin; to command, rule”)) + τῠ́πος (tŭ́pos, “blow, pressing; sort, type”) (from τύπτω (túptō, “to beat, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- (“to push; to stick”)).