archetype
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archetype
- /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ UK
- /ˈɑɹkɪtaɪp/ US
Where it comes from
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”)).
noun archetypes
-
An original model of which all other similar concepts, objects, or persons are merely copied, derivative, emulated, or patterned.
Near-synonym: prototype (sometimes synonymous)
Similar: prototype
- An ideal example of something; a quintessence. The Bishop [of Gloucester, William Warburton] asserts there is no Archetype, because eloquence is a variable thing, depending on custom and fashion; […] there is no Archetype in nature of perfect eloquence; its very constituent parts, as they are deemed, having no substance or reality in them.
- A character, object, or story that is based on a known character, object, or story. Archetypes are figures and creatures that inhabit the pools of the world's mythology, folk tales, epics, and ballads. […] Thus archetypes are universal essences that we all recognize: the Mother, the Lover, the Trickster, the Spiritual and Temporal Leader, the Devil.
- 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. The three archetypes so far discussed—the shadow, the anima, and the wise old man—are of a kind that can be directly experienced in personified form. In the foregoing I tried to indicate the general psychological conditions in which such an experience arises. But what I conveyed were only abstract g
- A protograph (“original manuscript of a text from which all further copies derive”). The outstanding importance of this manuscript for the text of Aeschylus has long been recognized. In the last century some scholars even persuaded themselves that it was the archetype of the whole extant tradition.
Similar: model
verb archetypes · archetyping · archetyped
- To depict as, model using, or otherwise associate an object or subject with an archetype. The whole issue of generalizing and overgeneralizing is always an issue. I use the term "archetyping." I say, "No, I am not stereotyping; I am archetyping." Stereotypes tend to be accusatory. I want to move the discussion away from a discussion of right and wrong to right and left—this is the way it
Thesaurus
noun
Similar: model
Translations
Every language
noun original model of which all other similar concepts, objects, or persons are merely copied, derivative, emulated, or patterned
| Español | arquetipo, exponente |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 原型 genkei, 祖型 sokei |
| 中文 | 原型 yuánxíng |
| हिन्दी | आद्यरूप ādyarūp, आद्यप्ररूप ādyaprarūp, आदिरूप ādirūp, आदिप्ररूप ādiprarūp |
| Português | arquétipo |
| Français | archétype |
| Deutsch | Urbild, Prototyp, Archetyp |
| Italiano | archetipo, capostipite |
| Ελληνικά | αρχέτυπο archétypo |
| Русский | архети́п arxetíp, образе́ц obrazéc, оригина́л originál, прототи́п prototíp |
| Tiếng Việt | nguyên mẫu, nguyên hình |
noun ideal example of something — see also quintessence
| 中文 | 典範 /典范 diǎnfàn |
|---|---|
| Português | arquétipo |
| Русский | образе́ц obrazéc |
Talk about this word "archetype." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/archetype. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. archetype. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/archetype "archetype." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/archetype.Cite this
@misc{archetype_2026,
title = {archetype},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/archetype},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
